


Oh but my darling, what if you fly?

by squintyeyedlwt



Category: Larry Stylinson - Fandom, One Direction (Band)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - No One Direction, American AU, Anne - Freeform, Boys Kissing, Cheeky Harry, College, College AU, Dimples, Disney References, Disney World & Disneyland, Disneyland, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Gemma - Freeform, Gemma Styles & Louis Tomlinson Friendship, Happy Ending, Harry Has a Crush, Harry Styles Has a Crush on Louis Tomlinson, Harrys dimples, Jay - Freeform, Johanna - Freeform, Kissing, Larry Stylinson Is Real, Louis Tomlinson Has a Crush on Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson as Peter Pan, Louis is nervous, Love, M/M, Mysterious Harry, No Angst, Older Louis, Online School, Peter Pan - Freeform, Peter Pan References, Photographer Harry, Quirky Harry, Rich Harry, Rich Harry Styles, SO MUCH FLUFF, Strangers to Lovers, Sub Louis, Twink Louis, Vulnerable Louis, age gap, harry makes louis nervous, harryandlouis, how many times do i have to say fluff, i actually wrote a happy fic for once, is this enough tags, larry - Freeform, larry stylinson - Freeform, louis has a big crush, louis has commitment issues, louis is peter pan, louis plays the piano, louisandharry, narry friendship, please read my fic, squintyeyedlwt, this fic is my baby, zouis friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-20
Updated: 2018-02-20
Packaged: 2019-03-21 12:45:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 22,217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13741173
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/squintyeyedlwt/pseuds/squintyeyedlwt
Summary: “Okay, how can you afford to come here every single day?” Louis asked, bewildered. Harry grinned, pulling his wallet out of his pocket. He opened it and pulled out a card. He handed it to Louis, who exclaimed, “A season pass?!”“Yeah,” Harry chuckled, “Why pay that much every single day to see you?”“You got a season pass just so you could see me every day?”oran au in which louis plays peter pan at disneyland, and harry gets a season pass so that he can talk to louis everyday.





	Oh but my darling, what if you fly?

**Author's Note:**

> hi everyone! i put my blood, sweat, and tears into this so i hope you like it!  
> it’s the first (and probably the last) all fluff fic i’ve written. 
> 
> disclaimer: i have never worked at disneyland obviously. i have no idea how things work or what it’s like. the way working at disneyland is decscribed in this is made up.
> 
> enjoy!

Working as a cast member at Disneyland was a lot to handle. Louis was constantly being chased around by little kids, and his cheeks always hurt from smiling for so many pictures. On bad days, it was hard for Louis to keep up a cheerful attitude, but he had to. Louis loved being around the kids, but he hated the parents. Some were nice, he had to admit, but most only wanted a perfect picture and bossed him around, having no thought for his feelings or preferences. That all came with playing Peter Pan, though, and he was happy to have the job.

Though it was challenging at times, there was nothing like seeing the magic come alive in a child's eyes when he offered to fly with them to Neverland or saw them pointing at him from across the park. His interactions had to be short, but he was usually able to say something to the kids that seemed to make them believe in magic all over again. It was an amazing opportunity, working at the happiest place on Earth, and he wouldn't trade it for anything.

Louis had been working as Peter Pan for about 4 years now, it was an internship, and they paid for his schooling. By day he was Peter Pan, and by night he was Louis Tomlinson, a college student just trying to get by. Louis found beauty in so many things in his life, and he was just so happy to be able to have the opportunity to work at Disneyland. When he was awarded the scholarship, he expected just to be standing behind a counter selling Mickey Mouse ice cream. To his surprise, the guy who had been playing Peter Pan had just graduated, and they were in need of a new one. Louis was offered the position, and was told that he had the perfect look to him for it. He was humbled.  
Louis had made friends quickly. The other cast members and characters were so kind, and it was the best work environment. His closest friends were other cast members. His best friend was Zayn, who played Aladdin. On weekends, the characters would often go out with each other to party. He was grateful to be able to work with such awesome people.

Today was a Saturday morning. It was early January, and this time of year was usually less busy than most. Louis was in the locker room, pulling on his costume for the day. His first shift of the day was in a few minutes, and he had a massive headache. His eyes lifted towards the door as Zayn walked in. Louis smiled at him.

"Hey do you have some Tylenol?" He asked, hopeful.

Zayn nodded, walking over and opening up his own locker room, "Yeah, mate. Just give me one second to put on my costume."

Louis sat down on the bench, waiting patiently. The door opened once more, and a group of characters who had just finished their own shifts came in. Louis noticed their moods. He could always psych himself for what to expect by seeing how his coworkers reacted to the crowd that day. Chances were that he would be meeting similar people. They seemed happy, and he was relieved. He couldn't handle anything annoying today.

Zayn handed him a couple pills, "Here."

"Thank you, you're a life saver!" He gushed, grabbing his water bottle.

He swallowed the pills, washing them down with water. He checked his phone one more time before putting it into the locker, and closing it. The cast member who worked directly with Louis entered the room, and ushered him. Louis said a quick see you later to Zayn before running out with the cast member. He hoped his headache would be gone soon, and that were would be no annoying parents.  
There was already a long line of people waiting for him when he got out. He did what he always did when he stepped out, he smiled wide and looked out at the crowd to see what kinds of people there were. He saw lots of little kids, a few teenagers, and one or two adults who probably just liked Peter Pan. The first in line was a little girl, who looked like she had to have been about five years old. She ran over to him. He squatted down so that he was eye level with her, and offered her a high five.

"What's your name?" He asked. There were always the standard questions that he would ask. He would ask their name, if they were having a good day, and if they wanted to go to Neverland with him. It was common protocol.

"Jennifer," She smiled sweetly at him, offering her his autograph book.

He took it from her and grabbed a pen from his pocket. "I'm Peter Pan, Jennifer. It's nice to meet you." He signed her book: 'Never grow up, Jennifer. x Peter Pan'. He looked up at the mother, who was beaming, "Hey, do you want a picture?"

She grinned at him, exclaiming that she would. He posed with the little girl, and gave her a quick hug before she rushed off, and he welcomed over the next kid. Most of the line was like this. All of the children were so sweet, and he only had to deal with two unreasonable parents. He loved seeing the different personalities of the children, they were all so unique.

Something that no one but cast members knew was that the characters were allowed to pick one person a day to walk around the park with for an entire fifteen minutes. Not all characters did this, but Louis was a people person, and so he faithfully fulfilled it everyday. He would scope out the people waiting for him, and then when he found someone he liked, he'd tell them to wait for him, and they'd walk around. Because Louis had three shifts a day, he often felt guilty picking someone from the first session since it didn't give others in the day a chance.

This is exactly what happened today. Louis pulled aside a nine year old little boy, telling him he'd love to walk around the park with him for a bit. The nine year old, who's name was Ethan, was so excited that he started jumping up and down. Louis smiled to himself; wow, he loved his job. So, a few minutes later, Louis found himself walking through fantasyland with Ethan and his mother.

"He's been begging to come to Disneyland since he was four years old," the mom explained, "His father and I got divorced, and I wasn't able to bring him until now."

"I'm glad you're here," Louis exclaimed, "And if you go on Peter Pan's flight in a bit, then you can help me fight against Captain Hook!"

Ethan eyes brightened and he made some comment about how he knew that it was going to be his favorite ride. They continued their walk for a little while longer. Eventually, Louis realized that the fifteen minutes were up. He smiled at Ethan, putting his hand on the boy's shoulder.

"Well, it's time for me to get back to Neverland," Louis said proudly, "I hope to see you again, Ethan."

The boy and his mother said their goodbyes. Louis was lucky that he was close to a cast members door. He walked through it, waving goodbye. Once he was away from sight, he rubbed his cheeks- they were sore from so much smiling. He walked down the stairs to get to the underground pathway. Louis loved the underground pathway. Walt Disney had planned that characters should have a hidden path so they could efficiently get around the park without having to deal with the crowds or anyone stopping them for a picture or anything. Louis didn't always use it, but he did when he was in a hurry.

He walked through until he walked back upstairs and into his dressing room. His dressing room was in Sleeping Beauty's castle, which made him feel special. He stayed in his costume since his next shift was in an hour anyways. He got his phone out from his locker, and logged onto his university website to check his grades. He was doing well.

The rest of the hour went by quickly, and Louis had to go back out and meet customers. This time he would be posing with Captain Hook. He liked having someone else to be in the pictures with, it was refreshing. The only downfall was that sometimes the kids were scared of Captain Hook, and they wouldn't be as interactive and Louis would like. He walked out to his usual spot, where another line was waiting for him.

The kids were all so sweet this time, except for one, who kept telling Captain Hook exactly where he could go. Louis was both amused and concerned at where she'd learned that kind of vocabulary. She was certainly feisty to say the least. Louis loved it when teenagers were excited to take their photo with him. Obviously they knew he wasn't actually Peter Pan, but in some ways they were more excited than the children. And lastly, young adults were his favorite. Louis would never admit this, but it was true. He loved it when there were people his own age who still loved coming to Disneyland and meeting the characters. Plus, every once in a while, he would see a cute boy, and he wasn't complaining about that whatsoever.

Today was one of the days that Louis saw a cute boy. He had dark brown curly hair, and green eyes. He wasn't attractive in a typical way, but there was something about him that was just so endearing. Maybe it was the cute dimples that popped out every time he smiled. Louis didn't get nervous to talk to the Disneyland visitors very often, but this time he was.

"Hey!" Louis exclaimed when the boy walked over to him, "What's your name?"

"Harry," He answered, smiling. There were those dimples.

Louis grinned, "Well, Harry. I'm Peter Pan." Harry nodded and they took a selfie together. "How many days are you going to be at Disneyland?"

"I'm not sure actually," Harry bit his bottom lip. Wow, that was cute. "I just moved here for school last week, and this is my first time here." Harry pointed to the pin on his shirt that said 1st Visit.

Louis jumped up in the air, "Your first time?! How are you liking it?"

"It's great so far. I've gotta say that Pirates of the Caribbean is my favorite ride so far," Harry declared.

If Louis was asked while at work what his favorite ride was, he, of course, was supposed to answer that Peter Pan's Flight was his favorite. It just wouldn't make sense for Peter Pan to love another ride better than his own. His actual favorite ride, though, was Pirates of the Caribbean. To be fair, it was most people's favorite. It was just so much fun, and there was so much to look at during it. Even the line was entertaining. Most lines were entertaining, that was something that a lot of people loved about Disneyland.

Louis simply nodded along, telling Harry that it was one his favorite rides as well. He cursed himself for wasting his walk of the day earlier when he could have had an entire fifteen minutes to talk to this boy. He could only hope that Harry would come back and meet him another day. It was unlikely, but Louis could hope. Louis suddenly realized that he had been taking up a little too much time with Harry than what was usually allowed.

"It was so awesome to meet you, Harry!" He said, and he meant it, "I hope to see you around fantasyland another day soon." He winked at Harry, and then that was it. Harry said goodbye and left, and it was onto the next.

Louis couldn't help but think about this curly haired boy for the rest of the day. He didn't understand how such a tiny interaction could affect him so much. When it came time for the nightly character parade, Louis swore that he saw Harry somewhere in the crowd, waving at him. He waved back, perhaps a bit too excitedly. Now that Harry was a local, he hoped he'd come a little more often. Even then, locals didn't meet with characters very often.

Louis was finally allowed to go home when the parade was over at 9:00. He and Zayn were roommates, so they always rode with each other to work. It took Zayn a little bit longer to prepare to go home, because he had to wear a wig as part of his costume. Louis waited patiently. Finally, they headed out to the parking lot to find Louis' car.

"So," Zayn started conversation, "did you get anyone cool in your lines today?"

Louis smiled at the memory, "There actually was this one guy who was really nice and cute."

"Uh oh. Nothing good can possibly come from you having a crush, you know."

"I don't have a crush," Louis laughed, slapping Zayn's arm, "I don't even know the guy. He just was really cute, and he left a good impression on me."

This was true. Even though Harry had been on Louis' mind all day, it didn't mean he had a crush on him. And even if he did, it wasn't like he'd be able to act on it. Harry could have a horrible personality for all Louis knew. He was cute, that was the only thing Louis was positive of. Oh, and that he hoped he'd see him again.

"What about you?" Louis asked Zayn.

Zayn replied by telling him that there wasn't anyone super cool in his lines today. There was, however, a kid that threw up on him. Louis knew how that was, it sucked. Louis laughed at Zayn, but he really did feel bad. Zayn didn't love kids in the first place. Half the reason that he was even doing the job was because he had the hots for the girl who played Jasmine. Zayn never admitted that, but Louis knew it was true. He often teased him about it.  
They got into the car, and Louis grabbed the aux cord. He put his music on shuffle, and the first song that came on was some Disney song. Louis and Zayn both groaned, and Louis switched the song. He loved Disney. If he didn't, he definitely wouldn't be working at Disneyland. But when he had to hear the music all day every day, it got old fast. He looked over at Zayn, who looked incredibly annoyed, and laughed.

"Do you want to play FIFA tonight, or do you just want to go to bed?" Louis asked.

It wasn't rare for the two boys to get home after a long day, and play FIFA for a few hours. It took away all of the stress from the day, and it was fun. Plus, Zayn was better than Louis, and Louis knew the only way to finally beat him was to play with him as often as possible. He tried to figure out his strategy, but he honestly didn't have one. He was just good at the game.

"Either way, mate," Zayn shrugged, "You're never going to beat me anyway."

Louis frowned to himself, "That's it. We're playing."

And they did. As soon as they walked into their apartment, Louis turned on the console and Zayn went into the kitchen to make some popcorn. Soon enough, their backs were hunched over, and they were staring at the screen, yelling at each other. Louis was yelling at Zayn because he couldn't keep up with him, and Zayn was yelling at Louis because he kept messing the play up. This continued for about two hours, until Louis realized he was never going to win.

"You're the worst!" Louis yelled, throwing his controller down on the couch, and standing up.

"Come on," Zayn smiled, scratching his neck, "It's just a game.”

"Maybe to you it is, but to some of us, it's life,"  
Louis teased, "But really, I need to go to bed."

"I'll clean up," Zayn offered, "Goodnight, mate."

Louis made his way into his bedroom. He laid down on his bed, not bothering to get changed into pajamas. That would take too much effort. He plugged his phone into the charger, and put it on the bedside table. He rolled over onto his side, and closed his eyes. He let all of his muscles relax, and allowed himself to drift off. Tomorrow would be another busy day, and he couldn't wait.

-

The thing about working at any place with a lot of people was that you were going to get treated terribly by someone at some point. Disneyland was no exception to this. People were cranky because of all the lines, and often times when they found out they had to wait in another line just to meet a character, they weren't very happy. It was especially hard if they just barely missed the line, and they were denied meeting their favorite character. The cast members had waiting times down to an art. Because all of Louis' shifts were only a half an hour long, only enough people were allowed in the line to meet him to fill up thirty minutes. If you were just one person too late, you wouldn't get to meet the character. It was easy to see why this must be frustrating to customers, but there was nothing Louis, or any other cast member could do. It was policy. Plus, if they let everyone get in line for a picture, Louis' shift would last all day.

He never knew what to do when someone got upset because, well, it wasn't like he could fight with them. He was just there to interact with the kids and to take pictures. It was the cast member's job to deal with the customer, but every once in a while, they had to get Louis involved. Some visitors were the worst. Louis walked out to a situation just like that.  
"I'm sorry, ma'am. You've missed the time period for when you can line up," The cast member apologized, "Peter Pan will be back at 1:00, if you get here for that, you can meet him."

"I already told you, we'll be gone by then!" The lady screeched. Louis looked at the girl standing beside her, who just looked incredibly embarrassed. He figured it was the woman's daughter.

Louis stood awkwardly before the line. He wasn't allowed to start interacting with anyone until the cast member gave him the okay, and that obviously wasn't going to happen anytime soon. The teenager at the front of the line waved to Louis, and he smiled wide, waving back. He just wanted the lady to deal with the fact that neither she or her daughter was going to be able to meet Peter Pan and just leave already.

"Hey you, Peter!" She yelled in his direction. He plastered a confused look on his face, and pointed to himself, as if to say 'Who, me?'

"Just ignore her, we've got to get started."

"Excuse me, how dare you tell him to ignore me!" She threw her hands in the air. She squinted at the name tag before continuing, "Well, Ellen, I will be reporting you."

"Anyone will tell you the same thing I've already said," the cast member was desperate, "I'm sorry, those are just the rules."

Louis could see people in the lines with their phones out recording the entire event, and he had to hold back laughter. Honestly, he'd probably do the same thing. The woman made a few more snarky comments, and even told Louis that she didn't think he made a good Peter Pan anyways. She then left, and that was the end of that. Louis had to recover quickly in order to interact with everyone efficiently, but truth be told, when the girl came up to him with her phone on record, he panicked.

"Hey I'm Lou-" His eyes widened as he realized what he was doing, "Peter! Peter Pan. I am Peter Pan."

The girl started laughing, and she managed to say, "I'm Heather."

Louis scolded himself in his head, and hoped no one other than Heather noticed his mess up. He wasn't in the mood to be yelled at today. He was usually very good at responding to the name Peter, it was part of him at this point. He didn't know what had gotten into him. He guessed he was probably just frazzled by the woman that picked a fight with him. He and Heather finished their conversation, and took a quick picture.

Louis went through the rest of the line with nothing really special happening. No kids really popped out to him, and he didn't seem to make anyone's day ultra magical. He hated it when he had lines like this, but there was really nothing he could do. As the last person in line approached, Louis grinned. It was a boy with blonde hair, and he was chewing on his fingernails.

"I'm so sorry," He mumbled, "my friend really wanted to come meet you, and he just ran real quick to use the restroom. I'm sure he'll be back any second. Do you mind waiting."

The cast member opened her mouth, but Louis spoke instead, "Of course! We have nothing but time."

They waited awkwardly for a few minutes before someone finally came running, literally running, around the corner. Louis recognized the boy vaguely. Once he got closer, he smiled. Dimples. Now Louis remembered. It was that wonderful, beautiful boy. Inside, Louis was screaming. He actually came back, the very next day.

"Well, well, well," He smirked, "If it isn't Peter Pan."

"Hi..." Louis held out the word, trying to think. "I'm so sorry, I don't remember your name."

He laughed, flipping his hair out of his face, "It's Harry."

"Harry, right," Louis could feel a blush creeping onto his cheeks, "Well, welcome back to Neverland.”

"Thanks," Harry pursed his lips.

"Come on, now. Let's get a picture," The blonde boy said, pushing them closer together. Louis and Harry both laughed. They smiled for the picture, and then it was just kinda quiet. It wasn't an awkward quiet, Louis felt content.

"Did you pull someone aside?" The cast member asked.

"Oh!" Louis exclaimed. He had completely forgotten about that. "You can go, Ellen. I'll ask Harry here."

"Wait what?" Harry tilted his head, "Ask me what?"

"If you want to walk around the park with me for like fifteen minutes," Louis explained.

He suddenly became extremely self-conscious of himself. He probably sounded stupid. Harry was here with a friend, and probably had better things to do. Not everyone thought it was the coolest thing in the world to hang out with Peter Pan. He had only been rejected a few times, and he always felt embarrassed after asking. This time would most definitely be the worst. He braced himself for the worst.

"Yeah, sure," Harry shrugged, completely to Louis' surprise. "Do you want to wait, or?" He asked to the blonde boy.

"He can come!" Louis said quickly. He didn't want the boy to think he wasn't invited.

Harry shook his head, "I think he'd better wait."

Louis understood what Harry was saying. Harry wanted to walk alone with Louis. Louis smiled, scrunching up his nose. Harry told the blonde to go ride something, and text him when they were ready to meet back up. Louis and Harry started to walk away, making small talk.

"So," Harry put his hands in his pockets and looked over at Louis, "what's your real name?"

"What are you talking about?" Louis asked, pretending to be confused, "I'm Peter Pan."

"When this fifteen minutes is over, what will your name be?" Harry rephrased the question.

"Peter Pan."

"Come on!" Harry laughed, stopping in his tracks.

Louis giggled, and lifted his Peter Pan hat so that he could run his hand through his hair, "It's Louis."

Harry smiled, letting those dimples show. Louis could have died, they were so endearing. Harry noted, "Louis? That suits you."  
Louis shrugged. He had an old fashioned name, and he knew it. People were constantly mispronouncing it, and all the way through high school, his friends called him Lewis as a joke. He didn't necessarily dislike his name, but it wasn't his favorite thing in the world. It was his name, though, and it wasn't like he was going to change it. His mum had some reason for choosing it, and he planned on honoring that. 

"You're down here for school, right?" Louis asked, and Harry nodded, "Me too."

"What?" Harry gasped, "You mean you aren't here to fulfill your calling in life, playing Peter Pan at Disneyland?"

Louis rolled his eyes, but a smile formed on his lips anyway, "Well, kinda. It's a scholarship program."

"Oh, I didn't know that," Harry noted.

“Yeah,” Louis nodded, a grin quickly appearing on his face, “I play the great Peter Pan, and Disney pays for my schooling.”

Harry seemed to be so intrigued by everything Louis was saying, and he kept asking more questions about the program and how it worked. Louis explained that all of his schooling was online, and that he had to do most of it during the night, so he was always sleep deprived. He talked about how he got a certain amount of credits per semester as work study for working at Disneyland, and Harry didn’t interrupt him once. Most people, when they asked Louis about his internship didn’t really care, and they were just being friendly. Harry, on the other hand, seemed to really be interested in everything Louis was saying.

“Do you ever have days off?” Harry asked once Louis was done explaining everything.

“Uh, yeah.” He answered, “I have one day off every two weeks. But unless I decide to stay for the parade, I get off at 3:00 every day, so it’s not too big of a deal.”

“But what if you got sick or something?”

Louis shrugged. Yeah, that was a totally different matter. “Well, on the days I don’t want to stay for the parade, there’s a specific cast member who does it. And if there were ever some major reason why I couldn’t make it, they’d just have him play Peter rather than me for that day.”

Harry, who previously had a small frown of confusion on his face, now smiled. He nodded to signal that he understood, and Louis wanted to kiss him right there and then. Maybe he really was going to have a crush. He hoped it wouldn’t be too intense. But, it wasn’t like Harry was going to start coming every single day. That would be insane.

“Well,” Louis sighed, ready to wrap up the conversation, “I-”

“What are you majoring in?” Harry interjected, but Louis didn’t mind.

“Health Science, what about you?”

“Psychology,” Harry looked down for just a moment, and a piece of his hair fell before his eyes. Louis resisted the urge to reach out and move it back.

“So, you know all about people’s brains and stuff?” Louis asked, finding it interesting that this was the boy’s major.

“I guess so,” Harry chuckled, “Right now I’m focusing on what a person’s body language can say about them.”

“What does mine say?” Louis asked.

Harry leaned in close. Louis mimicked the action, and Harry whispered into his ear, “That you’re just dying to kiss me right now.”

A blush quickly took over Louis’ face, and he covered his face with his hands. It’s not like Harry was wrong, Louis wouldn’t mind sharing a kiss with Harry. But he was embarrassed for Harry to know it. Harry might have thought it was weird that a boy he had just met wanted to kiss him. Louis couldn’t control his desires, though, so he tried to brush it off.

“Now you’re embarrassed that I said that,” Harry said, causing Louis to want to shrink into himself even more. “Don’t worry. I’m positive that my body language perfectly mirrors yours.”

What? Did that mean that Harry wanted to kiss Louis? If that were the case, then Louis wouldn’t mind sneaking away to a bathroom, or anywhere empty and kissing. He wasn’t sure though, so he wasn’t about to make any moves. For the sake of his own pride, he hoped Harry wouldn’t either. Harry smirked, knowing that he was making Louis’ head spin. This psychology major, Louis decided, was a risky thing to gamble with.

Harry’s phone vibrated from in his pocket, and he fished it out to look at it. He smiled at the screen, his thumbs working speedily to send a reply to whoever had texted him. Louis stood there awkwardly, waiting for Harry to be done. Harry used a hand to adjust his hair, and eventually put his phone back into his pocket, and looked back to Louis.

“Niall’s just got in line for Peter Pan of all rides,” He smirked.

“Niall?” Louis was confused. Who was Niall?

Harry licked his lips, “Oh, that’s the friend I came here with. Sorry, I didn’t realize that I hadn’t introduced him.”

Oh. Louis had completely forgotten that Harry had come here with a friend. Suddenly realizing that he had taken up more than fifteen minutes of the boy’s time, he pursed his lips. He let out a small sigh, not wanting to leave Harry’s presence.

“Well, I should let you go then.”

“You’re done for the day at 3:00?” Harry asked, and Louis nodded, “Meet me right here at 3:00 then.”

Louis grinned, loving the idea of that. He nodded and said a quick goodbye to Harry before running off into a cast members only door and leaving Harry behind. His heart was racing as he ran through the underground passage to get back to his dressing room. He had been gone with Harry for so long that it was almost time for his next shift. He didn’t mind though, he couldn’t think of a better way to spend his time.

Once he got into the dressing room, Zayn was sitting on the bench. He nodded in his direction to say hi, and then he opened his own locker. He checked his phone, and there was nothing. He drank a sip of water, all the while not being able to stop smiling.

Zayn was looking at him with a confused expression, “You do know that you can stop smiling now, right?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Louis laughed. He tried to suppress the smile, but he failed. “I think I may have a date of sorts today.”

“Oh?” Zayn raised his eyebrows, “Continue.”

“It’s that one guy I was telling you about yesterday,” Louis explained, his breath finally evening out, “I’m going to meet him after my last shift.”

“Does that mean that I have to stay, too?” Zayn groaned. 

Zayn never wanted to participate in the parade, but Louis often did. This made it hard because the parade was an entire six hours after their shifts has ended. Louis had told Zayn several times that he should just drive himself to and from work in order to avoid those six hours, but Zayn insisted that he wouldn’t because he didn’t want to waste gas. During those six hours, Louis often filled the time going on rides, and talking to other cast members. Zayn, however, didn’t like Disney, so he would just sit in the locker room, and either study or sleep.  
“You can catch a ride home with someone if you want,” Louis suggested, “I mean, I don’t know how long I’ll be here.”

Zayn rolled his eyes and lifted his hands up to rub his own temples. It was something he often did when he was annoyed. Louis didn’t know why Zayn had any reason to be annoyed. Louis liked being at Disneyland, was that such a crime? Next time, he’d convince Zayn just to drive separately so they wouldn’t have to deal with this. 

Before either of them got a chance to say anything else, Louis had to run away to meet his next group of people. He was excited, and he was in a really good mood. The thought of getting to hang out with Harry made it easy to smile and be cheerful around all these people, even the annoying parents, The line went quickly, and soon enough, Louis had gotten through everyone. Since it was Sunday, he only had two shifts that day.

Louis went into the locker room, and quickly changed into his normal clothes. It was refreshing to get out of his costume. To be honest, it was rather itchy. 3:00 rolled around before he knew it, and Louis made his way to where he and Harry had been talking earlier. When he got there, Harry was already waiting for him. It took him a second to register that it was Louis standing before him.

“Louis!” He exclaimed, “Wow, I didn’t recognize you in normal clothes.”

Louis giggled, “Yeah, I know. I look quite a bit different.” 

For a moment, it seemed as though Harry was checking Louis out. Louis could feel his cheeks reddening for the second time that day. And then Harry asked, “So you’re the Disneyland expert, right?”

“I sure hope so,” He said, shrugging his shoulders.

“Okay,” Harry smiled wide, and there was that dimple Louis loved, “I’m hungry, and I want to know where you think is the best place to get something to eat.”

Louis considered it for a moment, “Do you have a hopper ticket?”

“A what?” Harry frowned in confusion. 

“A hopper ticket? One that gets you into Disneyland and California Adventure?” Louis explained.

“Oh!” Harry shook his head, “No, I didn’t get one.”

“That’s okay,” Louis scratched the back of his neck, “I think I can get you in for free.”

Harry’s mouth dropped open, “Seriously?”

Louis nodded, and watched as Harry became increasingly excited. That was one of the best perks to working at Disneyland- you could get yourself, and two other people, into both parks for free. Another perk was that Louis just had to show his name tag, and he was immediately able to get into the fast pass lines. It was incredibly convenient, especially for days that were really busy. Unfortunately, some rides didn’t have fast pass options, so sometimes Louis was forced to wait in the normal line with everyone else. It didn’t bother him too much though. Again, the lines were quite entertaining.

“Let’s go!” Louis urged.

The boys made their way towards the park exit, and Louis knew exactly where he wanted to eat. He hoped Harry would like it just as much as he did. In his mind, the best place to get some food was The Pacific Wharf Café in California adventure. There, you could get clam chowder in a bread bowl, and Louis absolutely loved it.

The two walked across to California Adventure, where Louis showed the gate entry worker his nametag and pointed at Harry, saying, “He’s with me.” And they were welcomed inside. Louis knew that Harry had probably never been to California Adventure, so he took time to let Harry look around and marvel over everything. For whatever reason, even though Louis really didn’t know Harry at all, he wanted to spend forever making him feel this way.

“Okay,” Louis said once they arrived, “This is the place.” 

Harry looked over at him, a small smile playing on his lips. They went in together, and got in line. There weren’t very many people there, so they got through relatively quickly. Once they got to the counter, a cast member took their order. 

“Okay, so I’ll get the clam chowder bowl,” Louis said, “And he’ll have…”

“Oh no, I can pay for my own,” Harry objected.

Louis shook his head, “No, don’t be silly. I’ve got it.”

Harry looked like he wanted to argue more, but instead he let out a defeated sigh and looked at the worker, “Yeah, I’ll have a chicken salad.”

Louis paid for the food, and once they got it and sat down, he dug in. He loved eating this, but he didn’t have the chance very often. Harry poked around at his salad for a minute before taking a bite. A sound of pleasure escaped his mouth, and he covered his mouth, laughing from embarrassment.

“Wouldn’t have thought you were a salad guy,” Louis noted, smiling, but trying not to laugh at Harry’s expense.

“Trust me, I’m all about the salad life.”

Louis laughed, and continued eating. He figured that what he was having had to be better than what Harry was having. Really, a salad out of all things. Louis wasn’t into salads or anything healthy that much. He had a fast metabolism, though, so he could get away with eating junk food.

He and Harry had normal conversation while they ate. Louis learned that Harry was from Holmes Chapel, which wasn’t too far from where he grew up in Doncaster. Harry had gotten a full ride scholarship to California State University for academic excellence. His parents were quite wealthy anyway, so they sent him across the world for school with $20,000 in his bank account. That explained why he could afford to come to Disneyland two days in a row while going to school.

“Do you want to ride some stuff here or do you want to go back to Disneyland?” Louis asked after they were finished eating.

“Let’s stay here, so I can ride these rides. I already have ridden most of the ones over there,” Harry’s answer was simple.

Suddenly, Louis remembered Harry’s friend, “Uh, your friend Niall? Should we invite him?”

“No,” Harry shook his head, “He went home because he had a stomach ache, so it’s just me.”

“Oh, okay. Cool,” Louis tried to act calm but inside he was celebrating. He was happy to spend time with just Harry.

“So where to?” Harry asked. Louis looked into Harry’s eyes for a moment as he thought. They were green, he noticed. Louis didn’t know very many people with green eyes.

“The cars ride is really good, let’s go over there!” Louis almost went to grab Harry’s hand, but thinking that might be weird, he decided against it.

They practically ran to the back of the park, where the cars world was. This was one of Louis’ favorite places to hang out. They had the best ice cream at one of their shops, and he found the entire area so visually appealing. Not to mention, the ride was probably the best one in the entire park, other than maybe Tower of Terror. It wasn’t surprising that there was a long line, but Louis was able to get them into the fast pass line, which got them much further into the line. Although they skipped a lot of the line, there was still a lot of people in the fast pass line. This was an amazing ride though, so Louis wasn’t bothered.

“Do you like roller coasters?” Louis asked the excited boy standing next to him.

“They scare me a bit,” Harry admitted, “but I do like them for the most part.”

“We can go on the roller coaster next if you’d like? It’s not scary at all,” Louis suggested.

There was a family in front of the two boys, and they had two daughters who were playing some sort of clapping game with each other. One of the little girls turned towards Louis. “You look like Peter Pan!”

“Do I?” He asked. When she affirmed his question, he crouched down so he was at her height, “Well, I’ll tell you a little secret. Me and Peter Pan are really good friends.”

“You know him?” The other girl asked, shocked.

“Yeah!” He grinned at them, “Have you ever met him?”

“Yeah!” They both yelled in unison, causing Louis to laugh.

“How long are you going to be at Disneyland?” Louis asked.

The girls’ mother stepped in, “We’re coming everyday until Wednesday.”

Louis nodded, “Tell you what, girls. If you meet Peter Pan again, tell him that you met his good friend, Louis. Tell him that I told you he’d do something really special for you.”

They nodded and Louis stood back up. Sometimes when Louis met kids that he really liked in line, he’d give them a special Peter Pan pin. You couldn’t buy this pin anywhere in the park, you could only get it by Peter Pan giving it to you. Every character had a special pin. If Louis saw these girls again, that’s what he’d give to them.

He turned back to Harry, who was just sitting there watching the interaction and smiling. He offered a tiny smile in return. “Anyway, so, the roller coaster after this?”

“Sure thing, Louis,” Harry winked. 

Louis could have melted. He had only known Harry for two days now, but he had already come to care for him so much. He couldn’t quite put his finger on what it was about Harry that him smitten so easily and so quickly. Maybe it was those precious dimples. Whatever it was, Louis knew that he wanted more of it. The odd thing was that Harry seemed to have a mutual interest in Louis. Why else would he have come back the second time, and then asked Louis to hang out with him, which Louis was still counting as a date.

Of course Louis had been in past relationships, but none of them had worked out. To be honest, Louis was a bit afraid of commitment, so it took him a long time to want a relationship to move forward. He had been broken up with a couple times because he was being too distant. To be fair, Louis had to spend a ton of time at work, and when he got home, he had to do all of his schoolwork. No boy had ever come and visited Louis while he was at work, though, and Harry had already done that.

They made their way through the entire line until it was almost their turn to get on, and the cast member asked, “How many?”

“Two,” Louis answered, holding two fingers up. 

They were guided to a car, and Louis let Harry get in first. The ride was quite long, actually. There were things to look at everywhere, but Louis found himself watching Harry, who was completely enthralled. At times the ride was relaxing, and sometimes it was going incredibly fast. At the end, when their car had to race with another car, their car won. Harry was very happy about that. Once they finally got off the ride, they both had wind blown hair.

“That was amazing!” Harry gushed, grabbing Louis by the arm and pulling him from the car.

Louis laughed, and ran a hand through his hair, “Let’s go look at our picture.”

Many of the rides at Disneyland and California Adventure took your picture while you were on it, and this was one of them. They looked through the screens of pictures until Harry pointed to the one they were in. Both were laughing, and Louis wanted the picture solely because his hair didn’t even look messed up. He told the cast member to print it out and save it, for he’d be coming back tomorrow to pick it up.

Louis and Harry started their walk towards Paradise Pier. Louis wanted to ask Harry why he had decided to hang out with him, but he chickened out. They got in line for the roller coaster, and Harry got out his phone. He smiled at the screen, and took a picture of the line before putting it away. Louis figured it was snapchat.

“Do you believe in love at first sight?” Harry suddenly asked, surprising Louis.

Louis’ breath got caught in his lungs as his eyes widened at Harry’s question. It took him a moment to answer only because his mouth couldn’t form the words, “Of course I do. Do you?”

“I never used to,” Harry admitted, looking down. He then looked up at Louis, and his eyes seemed to sparkle, “But lately I have been.” He paused, and then asked Louis, “What made you believe?”

Louis tried to hide his smile. It wasn’t like he could tell Harry how he’d fallen in love with him at first sight, or how he couldn’t stop thinking of him. So he just said, “I don’t know. I just can’t imagine a world where instant connections aren’t made.”

He was referring specifically to the connection that he and Harry had made. It was incredible to him that after a three minute conversation, Harry had been willing to come back and see Louis again. He also couldn’t believe that after a thirty minute walk around the park, Harry had decided he wanted to spend an entire afternoon with Louis, and was even letting him pick where they ate and what rides they went on. Not only that, but Harry was so easy to talk to, and he wasn’t bad looking.

Harry nodded, and before they knew it, they were next in line to get on the ride. They sat down, and they just so happened to be placed in the very back. Louis could tell that Harry was nervous, so he grabbed his hand to reassure him that it’d be okay. Harry actually seemed to be calmed by the action, and he offered Louis a shy smile. 

The ride took off and Harry screamed. He was absolutely terrified, and Louis started to laugh. Part of him felt bad, but a bigger part just thought it was hilarious. Harry continued to scream throughout the entire ride, and by the time it was over, Louis was literally in tears from laughing so hard. He shook his head, and tried to speak, but he was just laughing too hard. They got off the ride, and Louis could barely walk.

“You said that ride wasn’t scary!” Harry said, lightly punching Louis.

Louis shook his head, and let out one last little laugh, “It’s not.”

“Yeah, it is,” Harry frowned, “I’m never trusting your ride judgements again.”

“Oi, alright, calm down.” 

Harry eventually let out another grin, and the two started walking around the rest of the park. They didn’t go on anymore rides for a while, just walked around and talked. Louis was curious about so many things about Harry. He knew it might be weird if he asked Harry question after question, so he came up with an idea.

“How about we play that game where I ask you a question, and then you ask me one?” Louis suggested. When Harry agreed, he asked, “What’s your favorite movie?”

“Titanic,” he answered without faltering.

Louis wrinkled his nose, “Really? Why?”

“I don’t know, really. I guess I just like the story.”

“You like the fact that they know each other for two days and then the ship sinks, killing thousands of people, including him?” Louis asked, not convinced.

“Yes?” Harry seemed unsure, “What’s yours?”

Louis thought about it for a moment, and then decided, “Probably Grease, because I like the songs and it’s just a really good show.”

“I’ve never seen Grease,” Harry admitted.

“Well, Mr. I love sad stories, we’re going to have to change that,” He laughed, “Okay, your turn.”

“If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?”

“Oh good question! I’m not sure,” Louis chewed on the inside of his cheek, trying to think, “Maybe New York City? I think that’d be really cool.”

“I went on vacation to New York once. It was cool, but it smelt and the people were really rude,” Harry added, “I think I would choose Japan.”

“Wow, that’s ambitious,” Louis noted, impressed.

They continued this little game for a little while longer, and Louis felt like he knew quite a bit about Harry. Harry had one sibling, an older sister, and his favorite animal was a cat. The coolest place he had ever been on vacation was Paris, and his parents got divorced when he was just seven years old. Louis told Harry similar things, he explained that he had five little sisters and one little brother. His favorite animal was dogs. His father had abandoned him and his mother when he was just an infant, and he couldn’t decide what his favorite vacation destination was.

“So have you met your dad?” Harry asked. Louis could tell he was walking on eggshells, so he smiled to signal that it didn’t bother him to talk about him.

“Yeah, I’ve met him a few times actually,” Louis said, “He’s scum, I’m not sure what my mum ever saw in him.”

Harry nodded. He pulled out his phone, and said, “It’s already 5:00. We should go back to Disneyland, I want to ride Pirates of the Caribbean.”

Louis smiled, “Your wish is my command.”

The two then headed back to Disneyland. Louis was itching to hold Harry´s hand, but he refrained. There was a line to get back into the park, which didn’t surprise Louis since a lot of people usually left the park to go get dinner. Once they finally got into the park, Louis saw a Mickey Mouse character taking pictures with kids. He suddenly remembered that he hadn´t signed out to signal that he wanted someone to take his place for the parade.

“Oh no!” He stopped in his tracks, his eyes wide.

“What?” Harry asked. He had a look of concern on his face as he looked to Louis for an explanation.

Louis grabbed Harry’s hand and raced towards a cast member door, “Come with me.”

“Woah, Louis. I really don’t think I should be going in there,” Harry objected.

“It’s fine, just come on,” Louis dragged him through the door. 

They ran down the stairs, and Louis finally let go of Harry´s hand. They walked through the passageway, and Harry was amazed. It was true that visitors weren’t usually allowed in the tunnels, but Louis figured it would be okay just this once. Harry’s mouth was agape as he looked at everything around him. Louis found it endearing, but was still in a hurry to get to the sign out sheet. It wasn’t like the cast member would be gone yet, but they preferred the characters to write if they were staying or not just as their shifts ended.

“Up here,” Louis directed, and they climbed up the stairs that led directly to Louis’ locker room. 

Once they were in there, Louis saw Zayn sitting in one of the couches on his computer. He smiled at Louis until he saw Harry come in. He frowned, tilting his head, and closed his computer. He looked back and forth between Louis and Harry. Louis grabbed the clipboard sitting on the counter and flipped through it until he saw his name. He quickly signed, showing that he would not be participating in the parade tonight.

“Louis,” Zayn called, “who’s our visitor?”

“Oh,” Louis walked back over to Harry, “this is Harry, the guy I was telling you about.”

“You’ve been telling people about me?” Harry asked. He seemed surprised, though Louis wasn’t sure why.

“Oi, he wouldn’t shut up about you,” Zayn teased.

Louis put his face in his hands, embarrassed. When he finally looked back to Harry, Harry was grinning at him with fondness. He shot daggers at Zayn. If looks could kill. Harry let out a small giggle as he continued looking at Louis. Feeling his heart beating way too fast, Louis got his phone out from his pocket to check if there were any notifications. There weren’t.

“So why did we come in here?” Harry asked, shifting all of his weight to one leg.

“I had to sign a thing saying that I need a replacement in the parade tonight,” Louis explained.

“You won’t be in it?” Harry almost seemed disappointed.

“No,” Louis shook his head, “Because I’ll be watching it with you.”

“Oh!” Harry’s face transformed immediately to a smile, “Okay then.”

“Let’s go,” Louis didn’t hesitate to grab Harry’s hand this time. He waved to Zayn, “I’ll see you later.”

Zayn waved back, and Louis and Harry left the room. They made their way to the line for Pirates of the Caribbean, and waited.They continued talking to each other with friendly conversation until they finally got onto the ride. It was everything Louis remembered it to be, and he had a very good time. He loved to watch Harry on the ride, because Harry was just amazed with everything that was happening around him. Harry reminded him of a child in this aspect; he was just so enthralled by the rides and the people and just everything. It was adorable.

Louis and Harry went on a few more rides, and got churros together. Louis was loving every second of it. When it came time to watch the parade, they lined up in what Louis considered to be the best location. The parade was long and exciting and Harry recorded the entire thing on his phone, which Louis found to be extremely cute. Once it was over, Louis knew that the park was going to be closing in about an hour, and he would have to leave Harry.

Harry must’ve been thinking the same thing, because he pulled Louis in for a hug and said, “Thank you for today.”

“No, thank you!” Louis corrected. He had such a wonderful day and he knew that Harry was the cause of it. He wrapped his arms around Harry, “Will I see you again?”

“I guarantee it,” Harry whispered into Louis’ ear, through his hair.

Louis wanted so badly to kiss him, but he resisted. He didn’t want Harry to reject him or anything along those lines. He kept hugging him for another moment. He just didn’t want to let go. It seemed that Harry didn’t want to either, and they just stood there, hugging for a long while. It was a nice hug. Harry was warm and welcoming, and Louis molded perfectly into his arms. It blew his mind that this boy seemed to be made for Louis.

Once Harry finally pulled away, Louis wrapped his arms around himself to try to bring back the warmth.He and Harry said goodbye before walking in opposite directions. Louis got into the dressing room, a giddy smile plastered onto his face. Zayn was asleep, and Louis woke him up. He blinked a few times, confused, and then smiled at Louis.

“So you had a good day?” He teased.

Louis nodded, “He was perfect, Zayn.” 

“Okay, well you can dream about marrying him tonight,” Zayn stood up, grabbing his jacket, “Let’s get home.”

-

Harry, of course, wasn’t there on Monday. Louis figured he was at class, and it wasn’t like he expected him to show up three days in a row. There was still a part of him who was dying to see those chocolate curls and dimples again. His day was pretty boring. He and Zayn went home at 3:00 and studied together for a test. 

Tuesday was similar, and Louis found himself absolutely exhausted at the end of the day. Tomorrow would be his day off, and he was looking forward to relaxing. It was pretty rare for Louis to stay up late, but he and Zayn had a test to take for Biology, and they didn’t get home until about 10:00 pm.

“Okay,” Louis said, “Let’s get all our notes and everything.”

When they were taking their generals, Louis and Zayn often had the same classes, and so they had gotten pretty used to studying together and taking tests together. Now, though, they were choosing different majors, so their classes were different most of the time. As soon as they both discovered they needed to take Biology, they decided to take it together.  
“How many systems is this over?” Zayn asked, opening up his laptop.

“I’m pretty sure it’s just cardiovascular,” Louis answered. He pulled out a diagram of the heart that he had labeled. He knew the human heart like the back of his hand. “Let’s do this, shall we?”

The two pushed begin on the test and worked away at finding the answers to questions. Because the exam was timed, they were eager to answer the questions quickly. They split it in half, and then shared their answers with each other This was a strategy that they had come up with, and were proud of. 

Once they were finally done with the test, Louis had a headache and was in desperate need of a glass of water. He watched Zayn close his laptop and gather all of his papers. Louis did the same before standing up. He stretched, starting to yawn.

“I’m so glad I don’t have to go in tomorrow,” He noted.

Tomorrow was his day off, and he’d been looking forward to it. He was so sleep deprived, and he was planning on sleeping most of the day. Plus, it’d be nice to just be able to run some errands he never had time to do. Louis felt like he never had any time to himself. Often times, he would spend 12 hours at work, get home, study, and then sleep. He never had the option to do what he wanted to do. It was frustrating.

“Don’t rub it in,” Zayn sighed.

“If you hate working so much, why don’t you take more time off?” Louis asked. 

“Do I look like I have enough money to pay for my own college?”

For the internship, your scholarship was determined by how much you worked. The more hours you worked, the more they would pay you. It made sense of course. You could also earn extra credits by working more hours. Zayn worked so many hours because he couldn’t afford to pay for school. Louis was pretty well off because he saved every penny he earned. He still worked the maximum amount of hours because he just loved to work. That was one of the biggest differences between Louis and Zayn.

“Goodnight, mate,” Zayn smiled before disappearing from the room.

Louis made his way into his own bedroom, where he collapsed onto his bed. He didn’t even bother changing out of his clothes before he let himself drift off.

Louis woke up the next morning to the sound of Zayn’s music blaring as he was in the shower. He groaned, putting his pillow over his head and trying to fall back asleep. He was unsuccessful, and wound up just getting out of bed. He cursed Zayn in his mind, and made his way to the kitchen to get some breakfast. He poured a bowl of cereal, and then opened the fridge to find that they were out of milk. Great. He yawned, closing the fridge door. He grabbed his bowl of cereal, and made his way into the living room. He sat down on the couch, turning on the tv. He ate the cereal with his fingers. He figured that since there was no milk, what was the point of dirtying a spoon.

Zayn walked into the room in search of something, “Louis, have you seen my keys?”

“No,” Louis shook his head, shoving another handful of cereal into his mouth.

“Found them!” Zayn shouted from the kitchen, “See you later.”

Now that Louis had the day to himself, he wasn’t sure what he wanted to do. He finished the cereal, and took the bowl to the kitchen sink, where he just left it. Eventually, he made his way into the bathroom to take a shower. Louis hated showering. Once he was in the shower, it wasn’t bad, but the thought of having to dry off was horrible. Once he was done, he quickly got dressed. Grabbing his own keys, he left the apartment.

Louis wanted to get out of the house. He couldn’t stand wasting away the day by just sitting there. His excuse for going out was that they were out of milk, so of course he was going to go to the store. He didn’t intend on going through every single aisle just to look at everything, but he honestly didn’t have anything better to do with his day. He wished that he would’ve been able to sleep in a little bit more. He pushed a cart along, and it filled up with more and more stuff that he definitely didn’t need. He didn’t pay attention to where he was going, so it surprised him when his cart ran right into someone.

“Oh, I’m so sorry!” He exclaimed to the person. He saw brown curls, and his heart swelled. Was it Harry?

His dreams were crushed when the person turned around, and it was just a woman with brown curly hair. She smiled at him, and he was positive that his face was slowly turning red from embarrassment. He pushed the cart away, and started walking in the opposite direction. He needed to get Harry out of his head. That would prove to be more difficult as soon as he heard someone calling his name.

“Louis?”

He turned around just to see the one person he’d been dying to run into, “Harry! Hey.”

“What are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be at Disneyland?” Harry asked.

“Oh,” Louis nodded, “No, today’s my day off. We were out of milk, so here I am.”

Harry looked into the cart, and laughed, “There’s not even milk in here.”

Louis felt a rush of embarrassment as he explained, “Well, I knew I’d be here for a while, so I wanted to get the milk last so it didn’t get warm or anything.”

“I see,” Harry grinned.

Louis felt his heart beating, and he wanted to hit himself. Yep, he definitely had a crush. He looked at the ground for a second before looking back at Harry, “So why are you here?”

“Well,” Harry started, “I went to Disneyland to see Peter Pan. I kinda have a crush on him.”

“Oh?” Louis’ voice was dripping with fondness.

“Yeah, but there was some imposter there instead of the real Peter Pan. So, knowing that I’d have to go a few more days without seeing him got me down. I came to the store to buy some ice cream to cheer me up.” The story that Harry was telling was endearing. Louis didn’t know how it was possible for a person to be so charming.

Louis tried to suppress a smile, but he failed and his lips curved upwards, “So you’ve got a crush on Peter Pan?”

“It’s pretty bad,” Harry teased, leaning close to Louis’ face.

“Well how are you going to fix that?” Louis felt butterflies in his stomach as Harry got closer and closer.

“Maybe you can help me.”

Harry leaned closer until Louis could feel Harry’s breath on his face. Louis’ eyes fluttered shut as he prepared himself for a kiss. Just as he was sure it was going to happen, a woman pushed past them.

“Excuse me,” she said, nearly running into Louis.

“Oh, sorry,” He said, moving out of her way. 

He looked at Harry, who was smirking, and let out an embarrassed laugh. Of all places to have a first kiss, he had never really thought of a grocery store. Harry looked embarrassed too, and Louis decided that he wanted to spend the day with this boy. His whole life really, but a day would work for now.

“Do you want to get some coffee with me?” Louis asked.

“Are you asking me on a date?” Harry raised his eyebrows.

Louis was taken aback, and he stuttered, “Uh, y-yes?”

“Then sure,” Harry pursed his lips, “I wouldn’t agree unless it were a date.”

“I really do need to buy milk though, so, I have to buy it and run home first,” Louis stated.

“Okay, I can come with you?” Harry offered, “I walked here from my dorm, so I don’t have my car.”

“Okay, yeah,” Louis agreed.

Louis and Harry walked away from Louis’ cart. Louis had decided that he didn’t need anything that was in there. They walked to the dairy section together, where Louis learned that Harry really did go to Disneyland today, and had left when he realized Louis wasn’t there. Louis was shocked. Harry admitted that before he left, he went on Pirates of the Caribbean. Once he grabbed the milk, Louis explained that he always got whole milk because he needed lots of calcium. At the checkout, Harry offered to pay for the milk, and Louis said sternly that it was only a few dollars, and he could handle it.

They started making their way to Louis’ car, and Louis warned, “Okay, don’t freak out or anything.”

“What?” Harry frowned.

“Don’t freak out.”

“Why would I freak out?” Harry asked, clearly confused.

“I’ve just got a really cool car,” Louis explained.  
Harry laughed, “Okay, I’ll try to keep my cool.”  
They got to Louis’ car, which was anything but cool. It was the lamest car ever, and Louis was actually surprised that it was even still running. When Louis unlocked it, Harry laughed. Louis knew he was probably thinking it was a bad car, but he didn’t say anything. As Louis drove to his apartment, Harry went through all the different radio channels trying to find a good song. Louis found it cute.

Once they finally pulled up to the building, Harry got out of the car before Louis had even turned it off, and came over to open the car door for Louis. They made their way to the apartment, and Louis unlocked the door. He let Harry go in first. He went into the kitchen, where he opened the fridge and put the milk in.  
“Do you want a beer?” Louis asked to Harry, who was just standing there looking around at everything.

“Oh no!” Harry shook his head, “I’m too young to drink.”

Louis’ eyebrows raised and he licked his lips, “How old are you?”

“I’m eighteen.” Louis nodded, trying to hide his surprise. In England, Harry was allowed to drink. Here in America, though, the drinking age was twenty-one. It was a bit of a drag for Louis to have to wait an extra three years to drink when he got here. “How old are you?” Harry asked.

“Twenty-two,” Louis answered.

All this time, Louis would have guessed that Harry was at least the same age as him. He looked older than eighteen. He was certainly intelligent and well-spoken. Louis was four years older than Harry, and he hoped that didn’t bother the young boy.

“You’ll be graduating soon?” Harry asked.

“Yeah,” Louis nodded, “I’m in my last semester. Once I graduate, I’ll be booted from the internship.”

“Like fired?” Harry seemed surprised.

“Kind of,” He paused, “The internship guarantees to help you find a job before they let you go. Plus, I already knew it was only a 4 year long internship.”

Harry nodded, and Louis smiled, “Do you just want to have something here? I think it’s about to rain, and I don’t really want to go out in that.”

“Yeah, that works,” Harry grinned, his dimple popping out.

“I have coffee, tea, water, soda,” Louis started listing off what he had.

“Don’t forget milk,” Harry teased.

“Oh yeah!” Louis laughed, “Yes, I’ve got milk as well.”

“Just water, thanks.”

Louis got a glass from the cupboard and filled it with water before handing it to Harry. He filled a glass for himself too. They sat at the counter in silence for a moment. It wasn’t awkward though, it was nice, and it felt right. Harry looked at Louis, and seemed to be studying his face. Louis bit his lip, and looked down.

“You don’t have to be nervous around me,” Harry said suddenly.

Louis’ eyes shot up, “What?”

“You’re biting your lip and avoiding eye contact. It means you’re nervous,” Harry noted. Louis was at a loss of words, so Harry continued, “I’m a master at body language, remember?”

“Right,” Louis laughed awkwardly, “It’s not necessarily that I’m nervous, but I don’t know how to act around you.”

Harry smirked, but didn’t say anything. Louis took another drink of his water. The butterflies in his stomach got stronger and stronger until he was just dying to kiss Harry. He looked over at him, and at his lips. They were so pink and so soft, and Louis wanted to feel them against his own more than anything. He resisted the urge, and forced himself to look away. 

The thing about Louis was that he was afraid of commitment. His father had left when he was an infant, so he had abandonment issues. He felt like everyone would leave him, and so far, everyone had. Not only that, but he had been treated horribly in past relationships. He was cheated on once, and that had completely destroyed any faith he had in successful relationships. That was the last boyfriend he had, and they had broken up about six months ago. 

This was why he did everything to protect himself. If he didn’t get involved with anyone, then he wouldn’t get hurt. This was why he couldn’t let himself kiss Harry. If Harry made the first move, that’d be one thing. But Louis wasn’t going to let himself be vulnerable.

“Do you live here alone?” Harry asked, causing Louis to shake away the thoughts running through his head.

“No,” Louis answered, “Zayn’s my roommate. He’s the guy we saw in the locker room the other day.”

“Okay, I remember. Are you guys… Are you together?” Harry seemed hesitant to ask the question.

“No,” Louis laughed, “No, Zayn’s just a really good friend.” Louis smiled at Harry. Harry revealed a small smile in return, but still didn’t look satisfied with the answer. So Louis added, “I’m single.”

“I had a relationship before I left Holmes Chapel,” Harry said, “but he broke up with me the day before I left, said he couldn’t handle long distance.”

“That’s too bad,” Louis sighed, “I haven’t had amazing relationship experience either.”  
Harry nodded, and stood up. Louis stood as well. Harry left the room, and Louis quickly followed after him. He walked down the hallway. Louis was confused as to what he was doing, but he didn’t say anything. Harry opened the door to Zayn’s room and looked inside. There were band posters plastered all over the walls, which were just black. His bed was unmade, and his dresser drawers were open, clothes hanging off the sides. Harry shook his head, and shut the door.

He opened the door across the hall to look inside. The walls in this room were turquoise, except for one, which was black with multicolored neon paint splattered on it. The bed was neatly made, and everything was tidy. There was a piano in the corner, and there were plants all over the place. The walls were bare other than a section that had photographs all over.

“This is your room, right?” Harry asked.

“Uh, yeah,” Louis said, puzzled. “How could you tell?”

“It matches your personality,” Harry shrugged. He opened the door wider, and walked in. He sat down on the bed.

“You weren’t kidding about this psychology thing,” Louis admitted. He walked into the room as well. Instead of sitting on the bed with Harry, he pulled the piano bench out and sat on it. 

“You play?” Harry asked.

“A little, but I’m not very good.”

Harry smiled. For a moment, Louis was afraid that he was going to ask him to play something. He didn’t. Instead, he told a story. “My sister can play the piano really well. When my parents got divorced, the only thing that would cheer me up was to hear her playing.”

“Wow,” Louis whispered. He didn’t want to speak loudly, fearing that he might chase the memory away, “That’s amazing.”

“Yeah,” Harry smiled with fond reminiscence, “To this day, if I’m ever down, I’ll always listen to piano to cheer myself up.”

“Do you play?” Louis asked.

“No,” Harry waved his hand, “I never got around to learning, I was too busy.”

Louis didn’t know what to say next, so he just didn’t say anything. Harry just seemed to be lost in thought, and Louis didn’t want to interrupt that. He stared at Harry’s face, taking in every detail. Harry had freckles, not a lot, but a few around his nose. He had a small mole by the side of his mouth, and his skin looked so smooth. Harry must’ve noticed Louis staring at him, because he looked up and made eye contact with Louis. His gaze was strong, and Louis wanted to look away. Rather than looking away, he began to study Harry’s eyes. They were green, he already knew this. At this moment, though, he decided that green just might be his favorite color. 

Louis could tell that Harry was fighting back a smile. A small dimple appeared on his cheek, that was what gave it away. Louis would have given anything to be able to see what was going on in the young boy’s mind. Eventually, Louis broke the eye contact, his eyes moving towards his hands that were on his lap, now clammy. Why did a boy he barely knew have this affect on him? He looked at the clock on his nightstand. It was 3:00, meaning Zayn would be home soon.

Louis wasn’t sure if he wanted Zayn to know that he had been hanging out with Harry. If Louis admitted that he was interested in Harry, he would get an hour long lecture about how he needs to be careful. Zayn, of course, was only looking out for Louis’ well being. The two had been friends for a long time, and Zayn had seen Louis get hurt by guys way too many times. He thought Louis was too trusting, and wore his heart on his sleeve too much. Louis didn’t think he was that way at all, but maybe he was. After all, if he hadn’t trusted others, he wouldn’t have gotten hurt so many times.

“What jobs can you get with a health science degree?” Harry asked, clearly trying to fill the silence in the room.

“Lots of things,” Louis answered, “I could work in hospitals, dentist offices, anywhere health related. I could be a teacher if I wanted to.”

“What do you want to do?” Harry asked.

“I don’t know,” he admitted, “I know I want to work with kids.”

“You like kids?” A smile broke out on Harry’s face.

Louis laughed, thinking it was obvious, “Yeah, I work at Disneyland of all places.”

Harry laughed along with Louis, and the sound was music to Louis’ ears. They continued talking and laughing for a long while, and Louis learned that Harry wanted to work in a psych hospital. The thought of it scared Louis. After about an hour, Louis heard the front door open. Zayn was home. Harry’s smile fell off his face, and he looked at Louis with a puzzled expression.

“Louis?” Zayn called out.

“Yeah, in here!” Louis shouted in return. Realization hit Harry and the confusion was wiped from his face. Zayn’s footsteps got closer, and he opened Louis’ door.

“Hey there’s a pair of shoes that I don’t recognize,” he said. He saw Harry and nodded, seeming to understand, “Harry, you’re here.”

“Yeah,” Harry smiled.

“Ran into him at the grocery store!” Louis exclaimed.

Zayn smiled in return, but his face seemed skeptical, “Well, I’ll leave you to it. I’ll be in my room if you need anything.”

He left the room, and then Louis heard the door from across the hall close. Harry laid back onto the bed, and looked up at the ceiling. He was so mysterious, and Louis couldn’t figure it out. He was so nice and charming. At the same time, he often seemed to be lost in thought. Louis wouldn’t mind spending time to try to figure him out, to break down his walls. He just hoped Harry would let him.

The rest of the day went quickly, and soon enough, Harry told him he had to get back home. Louis grabbed his keys, told Zayn he’d be right back, and off they went. Harry gave Louis directions on how to get to the college dorms. Once they pulled in front of Harry’s building, Louis put the car in park. 

“Well, thanks for hanging out with me today,” Louis offered, a timid smile playing on his lips.  
“Thank you,” Harry grinned. He pushed his hair out of his face.

Harry lingered in the car for a moment, and Louis wondered what he was doing. Scratch that, Louis knew exactly what he was doing. In Louis’ experience, if someone were to linger in the car, it was because they wanted to kiss. He thought this was what Harry was doing, but Harry never leaned over. Louis felt tension rising, and he wasn’t sure if it was sexual tension or awkward tension. Either way, he just wanted Harry to kiss him. He never did. He said goodbye a minute later, and rushed out of the car, and into the building.

Louis drove back to the apartment, his head spinning. What was this dimpled boy doing to him? He put his pajamas on once he got home, and rolled into bed. Tomorrow, it’d be back to work. Louis let his mind wander about Harry, and the whole day. He was confused by what it all meant, but he hoped it would eventually lead somewhere.

-

“Louis, there’s a line of people waiting,” a voice yelled across the room.

Louis tried to hurry to put on his costume, but he was just out of it today. He hadn’t been able to sleep well last night, so he was slower than usual at getting ready. He nodded, slipping on the shoes and running out. He put a grin onto his face, and waved at everyone in the line. Some of them looked annoyed that they had to wait a few extra minutes for Louis to get ready, but he didn’t care. He gestured for the first little boy in line to come over to him.

“Hey, kiddo! What’s your name?” He asked.

“John!” The kid answered.

“It’s nice to meet you, John! I’m Peter Pan.”

“I saw Captain Hook yesterday, but I thought you killed him,” the kid blurted, concern in his voice.

Louis laughed, “No! Me and Captain Hook are friends now.”

The boy’s father ushered them together to take a photo, and Louis said goodbye. He called over the next kid, and the next one, and all of them until the line was all the way done. He rolled his neck, stretching all the muscles. The cast member who worked with him smiled.  
“Alright, Louis. See you again at 11:00,” he said.

Louis nodded and disappeared into the locker room. He let the smile fall off his face, his cheeks hurt. He laid down on the couch. Letting out a sigh. It was only 9:30, he could take a nap before his next shift. He allowed his eyelids to shut, and he drifted off. 

“Louis!” someone said, shaking the boy awake, “Louis, you’ll never guess who I saw!”

“Hmm?” Louis asked, sitting up, confused as to where he was.

“I saw Harry!” Zayn let go of Louis’ arm.

Louis frowned, “What?”

“I was doing my shift,” Zayn explained, “and Harry was in my line. We got a picture together.”

“Are you serious?” Louis asked, his eyes widening.

“Yes! I swear it happened,” Zayn said.

“What time is it?” Louis asked.

Zayn looked over at the clock, and then back to Louis, “It’s 10:55.”

“I gotta get up!” Louis exclaimed, jumping up and pushing Zayn out of the way. 

He ran over to the mirror where he made sure that his hair looked okay. He messed with it for a moment before turning around. He grabbed the little hat and put it on his head. He waved to Zayn before running out to where he had to meet everyone. He scanned the crowd, looking for Harry. Harry wasn’t there.

Louis felt a pit in his stomach that he knew had to be disappointment. He tried to hide it as he interacted with the kids. Why would Harry come to his line anyway? He had already seen him at work so many times. And maybe Zayn was wrong. Harry probably wasn’t even there, he had school to go to. Louis brushed away the feelings of disappointment. Harry wasn’t at Disneyland. Louis was wrong.

At his 3:00 shift, Louis didn’t even look at the entire crowd before pulling the first little girl over for a picture. He did work as usual until he looked up to see that Harry was standing in line. His jaw dropped, and he ushered the younger boy over.

“Okay, how can you afford to come here every single day?” Louis asked, bewildered. Harry grinned, pulling his wallet out of his pocket. He opened it and pulled out a card. He handed it to Louis, who exclaimed, “A season pass?!”

“Yeah,” Harry chuckled, “Why pay that much every single day to see you?”

“You got a season pass just so you could see me every day?” Louis asked, doubt in his mind.

“It sounds weird when you put it like that,” Harry admitted, “but yeah.”

“Are you sure you didn’t get it for the rides?” Louis asked.

“I didn’t. After you weren’t here yesterday, I left. And today, I was too late for both of your other sessions, so I had to wait for this one.” 

“You’re insane!” Louis laughed, rolling his eyes.

“See you tomorrow,” Harry smirked, and then walked away. Louis watched him leave in awe. There was no way this was actually happening. 

-

On Friday, Louis walked out to his second crowd of the day, only to see Harry’s face smiling at him. He would never admit it, but it made Louis extremely happy to see him. He shook his head because Harry was very first in line.

“Hey Harry,” Louis grinned, waving his hand for Harry to come over.

“Peter, how are you?” Harry asked.

“My manager made this new rule that we can only interact for 2 minutes so, I can’t sit and chat with you,” Louis sighed.

“Okay, then I’ll get right to the point,” Harry grabbed Louis’ hand, causing butterflies to erupt in his stomach, “I’m going to need you to meet me at the Finding Nemo ride at 3:00 sharp.”

“Sure thing,” Louis nodded. Without another word, Harry walked away. Louis knelt down for the next kid in line to run up and hug him. Louis smiled, hugging her back tightly. 

When Louis walked into the locker room, he couldn’t stop smiling. He knew it was silly, but it seemed like Harry was just as interested in maybe having a relationship as Louis was. Zayn walked in soon after, and made a face at Louis. Louis had told him that Harry had a season pass, so Zayn probably knew he’d show up today.

“What’s the scoop?” Zayn asked.

“We’re meeting at Finding Nemo at 3:00,” Louis said.

Zayn rolled his eyes, but smiled anyway. Even though he was worried about Louis getting hurt, he still enjoyed seeing him happy. They were best friends, and they wanted each other to always be happy. Louis squealed as he opened his locker to get out his phone.

“Louis, do you even know his last name?” Another character asked.

“Uh,” Louis thought about it and then blushed, “No.”

Naturally, Louis had told a few people about Harry, and the word got around. At this point, everyone seemed to know about Louis’ crush on a visitor. Everyone was always asking him about it. And while normally he loved being the center of attention, it was weird for him to talk about Harry. He didn’t know how to describe Harry. He was amazing and kind and funny. 

“Does he know yours?” Zayn asked. 

“I don’t know,” Louis admitted, “I’ve never told him but maybe?” There were a few nods around the room, but no one said anything.

Louis couldn’t wait for 3:00, and when it finally rolled around, he wasted no time in changing his clothes and making his way to the Finding Nemo ride. He was there before Harry, so he just waited for him next to the line. Eventually, he saw Harry walking towards him and he smiled. Harry waved. 

“Hey,” Louis beamed.

“Before today I had never ridden this ride, so I wanted to ride it,” Harry started, “But I rode it while I was waiting for you, and I don’t like it.”  
“Okay,” Louis laughed.

“Let’s go to California Adventure.”

So off they went. Harry seemed to really know his way around the park now, so Louis didn’t have to guide and direct him much. Really, Louis was afraid that Harry might like Disney even more than he did. The kid had moved here for college, and the first thing he did was come to Disneyland. It was adorable actually.  
Once they finally got into California Adventure, there were a lot of people everywhere, more than usual. Louis figured maybe there was a conference or something. In order to not get separated, Harry took Louis’ hand and pulled him through the crowds. They made their way over to Soarin’ Over California, and got in line.  
Once Harry let go of Louis’ hand, it felt tingly. Louis was four years older than Harry, but Harry was much taller than Louis. Louis looked up at Harry, and grinned. He caught himself staring at Harry’s lips again. He couldn’t kiss Harry though, he wouldn’t. What if he got rejected? He wasn’t sure if he could handle that at this point. Plus, if Harry only wanted to be friends, this could potentially get in the way of that. Louis wanted Harry in his life, even if they were just friends.

They made their way through the whole line, and then got onto the ride. Louis had been on this ride only a few times, but he loved it every time. It felt so real, and it was fun. Harry was giggling the entire time, and Louis thought his heart was going to explode. The ride got over too quickly for their liking, but Louis had a good idea of what they should do now.

“Do you want to get ice cream?” Louis asked, “I know a really good place here.”

“By all means, lead the way,” Harry smiled wide, and those perfect dimples were visible.  
Louis led Harry back to the cars land, where there was a small ice cream parlor that they stopped at. Harry ordered chocolate, and Louis got a swirl. Harry insisted that he pay for the ice cream, so Louis reluctantly let him. Once they sat down to eat their ice cream, it was quiet for a few minutes.

“My last name is Tomlinson,” Louis broke the silence.

Harry laughed, “That was random.”

“Well,” Louis shrugged, “You didn’t know it, and now you do.”

“Okay,” Harry took another lick of the ice cream, “My last name is Styles.”

“Harry Styles,” Louis said, testing the words out, “I like the sound of it.”

Harry laughed in return. Louis figured that he could hear that life constantly for the rest of his life, and never get sick of it. He was in deep. Panic struck him as he realized that he had only known Harry for a week, and he already was so infatuated. He tried to brush the feelings away, but his hands started to become sweaty. Why was he like this?

Harry seemed to sense that something was wrong, but he didn’t say anything. Louis was grateful because he didn’t know how he would explain to Harry what he was feeling. All he knew was that he didn’t want to stop seeing Harry everyday. He was in luck.

For the next two weeks, Harry came every single day. Except Louis’ day off of course, he made sure to tell Louis that he wouldn’t be coming unless Louis was there. It was the same routine everyday. Harry would try to come to Louis’ first meet and greet, but if he didn’t get there in time, he’d come to the second one. It was rare that he missed the second as well, and had to come to the third.

“Oh, so I see you decided to show up,” Louis would tease, a smile on his face.

“I have to fight with all these little kids just to see you,” Harry always looked flawless. 

Eventually, Harry began bringing a camera to the park. He told Louis that he was starting photography, and he really liked it so far. He began to take pictures of him and Louis every day, and he would show Louis the pictures he took of the park the previous day. Louis had to admit, Harry was excellent at taking photos.  
Louis’ crush got more and more severe, and it got to the point where every single time he saw Harry, all he could think about was getting to kiss him. He started to get desperate, it became physically painful. Harry didn’t help at all by brushing his arms up against Louis all the time and constantly touching his hands. Louis couldn’t help but stare at Harry’s face, especially his lips. He was sure that Harry didn’t feel the same.

One day, Harry came wearing a Jack Sparrow costume. Louis couldn’t stop laughing at him, he looked ridiculous. When Louis said that, Harry pretended to be offended, and said, “Aye, matey. You’ll have to walk the plank for that comment.”

Another day, Harry brought Niall, who couldn’t stop laughing at everything Louis said. Louis didn’t mind; in fact, he loved the feeling of someone thinking he was funny. Niall was really cool, and Louis understood why he and Harry were friends. Meanwhile, Zayn felt like he knew Harry just as well as Louis did since he talked about him so much. It was starting to become a problem.

Today, Harry showed up with a notepad and a pen. Louis looked puzzled, so Harry said, “Okay, here’s the thing. I come to Disneyland everyday so that I can see you and talk to you. I’m not going to stop doing that, but my life would also be so much easier if I just had your phone number.”

Louis grinned, “Finally. I thought you’d never ask for it.”

He scribbled his name and phone number down onto the notepad, and handed it back to Harry. Harry had a strange expression on his face, and Louis couldn’t put his finger on what it meant. He didn’t care though, Harry always looked perfect. They went through their daily routine of taking a picture, and then looking at all of Harry’s other pictures.

“You’re so talented,” Louis complimented.

“Thanks,” Harry grinned, “You’re my inspiration.”

At this moment, Louis felt his heart melt. He could have shoved Harry into the locker room and kissed him right then and there, but he couldn’t. Why couldn’t Harry have been at the end of the line? Louis was so tired of waiting to see if Harry’s feelings for him were mutual. 

“Guess what,” Harry smiled. Louis smiled, waiting for Harry to continue, “Tomorrow is my birthday!”

“Oh, that’s so exciting!” Louis gushed. He loved birthdays.

Louis decided that he would do something special for Harry’s birthday. He wasn’t sure what, but something. He had to show Harry how much his existence meant to him.  
So as soon as Louis got done with his shift, he walking into the locker room, where several characters were sitting. They all looked up, and smiled at him. 

“Tomorrow is Harry’s birthday, and I want to do something special for him,” Louis said, “Ideas?”

“You could take him to a fancy restaurant,” Someone suggested.

“Yeah, I thought about that. I don’t know, I want to do something really extraordinary you know?” Louis replied, taking off his costume. 

“Take him into the firework zone, now that’s romantic,” The girl who played Cinderella said.

“Wait a second,” Louis nodded, “that’s actually a really good idea.”

So the next day, Louis talked to the people in charge of fireworks to tell them he’d be bringing a guest into the firework zone. There was place near the castle. It was arguably the best place to see the fireworks. Only employees were allowed to go there, and they had to notify someone if they were going to. This would be perfect for Harry’s birthday.

As soon as Harry showed up at Louis’ last session, Louis practically yelled, “Happy birthday!!!”

“Thanks!” Harry grinned. 

“Stay here, I have a surprise for you.”

Harry waited for Louis to get done with the session, get changed, and come back out. They spent the entire afternoon together, going on rides and having fun. They went together to meet Chewbacca, and Harry couldn’t stop laughing. At 8:00, Louis took Harry to the fancy restaurant that was in Pirates of the Caribbean. It was expensive, but he didn’t mind; he got a discount anyway.

“This is so nice, Louis,” Harry noted, once their food came out.

“Well, it’s your birthday. And I have a surprise in a little while.”

After dinner, the two went on a few more rides, and then it was time for the fireworks. Louis led Harry to the zone, where he let the cast member know that he had called in advance. They sat down on a bench, and a few other cast members were on other benches. The announcement came over that said the firework show would be starting in five minutes.

Sure enough, five minutes later, the show began. And it truly was the best place to see them. They could see everything perfectly, and the music was the perfect volume. Harry grinned, watching the fireworks in awe. Eventually, his mouth was agape, and he was just watching the fireworks. Louis spent most of his time watching Harry. As cliche as it sounded, he thought Harry was more beautiful that the fireworks. Harry looked away from the fireworks and straight at Louis. Louis smiled; he loved seeing Harry this happy.

Louis looked away from Harry’s gaze for a moment to see the fireworks. And then Harry’s hands were cupped around both of his cheeks. His heart started beating uncontrollably, and he looked back at Harry. His thoughts were clouded, and all he could think was Harry, Harry, Harry. He closed his eyes as Harry leaned in. And then he experienced a different type of fireworks.

Harry’s lips were everything Louis imagined and more. They were soft, and warm. They worked perfectly against Louis’ own lips, desire radiating from them. Harry pulled away quickly, leaving Louis wincing from the loss of contact. He felt light headed, and his lips were tingling. He opened his eyes, and Harry pushed their foreheads together. Louis giggled, happiness filling his entire body.

“You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that,” Harry admitted with a soft laugh.

“Then why didn’t you do it, you idiot?” 

Harry kissed him once more, his lips lingering this time. Louis was sure that he could never get tired of the feeling. The butterflies that were in his stomach was unbearable, and Louis couldn’t help but laugh into the kiss. It caused Harry to laugh too, and they had to pull away.

“I didn’t know if you wanted me to do it,” Harry admitted.

Louis raised his eyebrows, “Come on, even someone who wasn’t an expert on body language could have figured it out.”

Harry laughed again, the sound filling the air around them. Louis felt so free. They weren’t even paying attention to the fireworks anymore, but it didn’t matter. He had finally experienced kissing Harry, and that was enough. 

-

Louis didn’t know what he expected after their first kiss. It wasn’t like he expected them to become a couple or anything, but when Harry showed up in line again the next day, it wasn’t different. Their interaction was how it normally was. Louis loved that, but he thought something might be different now that they knew their feelings for each other were mutual.  
Louis went an entire week without saying anything, but not being sure where he stood with Harry. The biggest difference was that now that Harry had Louis’ phone number, they were constantly texting. There was a lot of flirting, but that was normal for them. He wanted the relationship to progress. They hadn’t kissed since Harry’s birthday.

“Maybe I did something,” Louis worried aloud.

Zayn shook his head, “What would’ve you done? You’ve acted just how you normally do.”

“Yeah,” Louis shrugged, “Maybe he just decided that he doesn’t want to be with me.”

Louis started to bite on his own cheek, slightly ripping the skin with his teeth. Zayn started to say something else, but Louis wasn’t paying attention. He let his mind wander to all the reasons why Harry could possibly not want to progress in the relationship. Maybe Louis wasn’t a good kisser, or maybe he just wanted to stay friends. Maybe he knew that Louis’ working so much was going to be a problem for him. None of it made sense though, because Harry still acted just as friendly as ever. It was as if their kiss had never even happened.  
For the next few days, Louis tried to push it to the back of his mind. It wasn’t that big of a deal. He really was just happy to have Harry as his friend. That’s what he told himself at least. Truly, he was dying inside. He had waited so long to kiss Harry the first time, and it was absolutely perfect. Now all he could think of was kissing Harry again. It was unhealthy, really, how often he thought about it. 

He just wondered how Harry felt. If Harry had told him that he’d been wanting to kiss him for a long time, then what had changed now? Louis didn’t know, and he was dying to find out. At the same time, though, he didn’t want to push Harry. He didn’t want him to feel uncomfortable in any way, so he would probably end up keeping this to himself until it drove him literally insane. Either that or until Harry kissed him again.

One day after Louis’ shifts, he and Harry were walking around the park, talking. Louis reached over to take Harry’s hand into his own. Unsure of how Harry might react, he softly threaded his own fingers through the younger boy’s. He swallowed hard and looked up towards Harry. Harry smiled at him and squeezed his hand to assure him that it was okay. So Harry obviously wasn’t against anything romantic. So what was it?

Louis wanted to ask. He refrained, afraid of what the answer might be. Harry seemed to notice a confused expression on Louis’ face, because he asked, “What’s up?”

“Huh?” Louis asked, surprised, “Nothing, nothing. I’m just thinking.”

“Louis, I’ve been meaning to ask you something,” Harry looked down. 

Louis’ felt his stomach erupt in butterflies. Harry pulled him over to a nearby bench, and they sat down. Louis licked his lips, “What?”

Harry hesitated for a moment, and then asked, “Why did you show an interest in me when I came in your line?”

“I don’t know,” Louis could feel his cheeks reddening. He wanted to shake Harry, and scream that it was because he knew from the second he saw Harry, that he would never be the same. Instead, he just said, “I guess there was just something about you that I found endearing.”

“You’re the only reason I came back,” Harry admitted.

“I know,” Louis laughed, “and I think you’re crazy.”

“Crazy about you,” Harry laughed.

And enough was enough. Harry was constantly flirting with Louis, but why? Louis couldn’t take it anymore, so he blurted, “Will you kiss me?”

“What?” Harry asked. He didn’t seem upset, just confused. Rightfully so, Louis’ request had come out of nowhere.

It suddenly dawned upon Louis what he had done, and embarrassment flooded his entire body. “I’m sorry, I don’t know why I said that!” He quickly stood up.

“Louis, it’s okay,” Harry said, his voice rushed. It was too late, though, Louis was already in panic mode.

Without saying another word, Louis started to walk away from Harry. Harry was on his feet instantaneously, and he tried to follow Louis, calling after him. Louis quickly found a cast members door, and knowing Harry wouldn’t follow him, he disappeared into it. He wanted to bang his head against the wall. To most people, this probably wouldn’t have been a big deal. But Louis was so afraid of rejection that he wasn’t even going to let himself get into a situation that might involve it. 

He was so afraid of what Harry’s reaction might have been that he didn’t even allow himself to witness it. He walked through the tunnels, his nerves getting the best of him. Once he finally got to his dressing room, he was hoping that Zayn was still there. He wasn’t. Louis started to panic as he phone began vibrating. Harry was calling him. He ignored it, not wanting to deal with confrontation right now. 

The next day, he called in sick. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to see Harry. He was really actually sick. That’s what he had told Zayn at least. Right at 9:00, he got a ton of texts from Harry asking where he was. He knew he had worried Harry, but right now he didn’t really care. He ignored all the texts. He only felt a small pang of guilt. It wasn’t enough to make him return Harry’s texts and calls.

The next day just happened to be Louis’ day off, and Zayn decided to take it off as well to hang out with him. The two slept in until noon, and then they played FIFA for a few hours. Zayn made sure to rub it in that he was beating him. A moment later, there was a knock at the door. Zayn walked over and looked through the peephole. 

“It’s Harry,” he said, confused. Without another word, Louis ran into his room. He heard Zayn open the door, and Harry came inside. Louis listened to their conversation.

“He hasn’t been replying to me, so I just wanted to make sure he’s okay,” Harry said.  
In all honesty, Louis wanted to run out and hug Harry, and apologize for ignoring him. But he was too prideful for that, and he didn’t want to admit that he was being ridiculous. Plus, he was still so embarrassed for asking Harry to kiss him. That had made him seem so vulnerable, and he couldn’t have that.

“I don’t know why he hasn’t replied to you, but he’s fine.”

“And he wasn’t at work today or yesterday, so I’m a little worried,” Harry sounded worried, it was true.

“Today’s his day off,” Zayn’s answer was simple, “And he was sick yesterday.”

“Is he here?” Harry asked. Zayn must’ve shook his head, because Harry continued, “Did he tell you anything about what happened the other day?”

Louis heard Zayn sigh, “Look, mate. Louis really likes you. I mean it’s a bit creepy how much he adores you. But he’s been hurt in the past, he’s been hurt bad. And if he’s distancing himself from you, I promise it’s only to protect himself.”

“I like him too, you know?” Harry sounded defeated.

“You need to tell him that,” Zayn said, “I know that you think flirting and charming him will do the trick, but he will never be the one to make the first move.”

“I kissed him,” Harry noted.

“And then you acted like nothing had even happened for over a week,” Zayn sounded annoyed, “He was overthinking himself to death about that.”

Louis plugged his ears at this point. He knew Zayn was saying these things to open Harry’s eyes, but he didn’t want to hear it. He didn’t know how long the conversation went on. When he unplugged his ears, there was no more talking so he figured Harry was gone. He slowly opened his door, and looked outside. Zayn was sitting on the couch, watching tv. Louis figured this was his sign that it was all clear. His phone vibrated, so he looked at it.  
Need to talk to you asap.

It was from Harry. Louis replied back that he knew where he could find him, and he walked to the couch to watch tv with Zayn. The two turned on FIFA, and Louis actually beat Zayn. Though he was pretty sure Zayn let him win, he was still pretty excited.

-

The one thing that Louis absolutely hated about playing a character at Disneyland were the times that people tried to expose him for not truly being Peter Pan. Obviously he wasn’t Peter Pan, but the children didn’t know that. He didn’t see what was fun about making a big deal out of the fact that he was a normal guy dressed up. Most people knew that anyway.  
Today was a day where that happened. It was a man who appeared to be about the same age as Louis. He was very obviously drunk, though Louis didn’t know how. Alcohol wasn’t allowed into the park. The man wasn’t even in line. Louis was about to pose with a little girl, when the man made his way over.

“Hey,” he yelled, “You know this guy isn’t even Peter Pan!”

“Sir,” the cast member had run over to him quickly, “Please don’t ruin the experience of the children.”

“You’re that idiot who cut me off this morning!” He yelled at the cast member.

Louis didn’t know if this was true or not, but he didn’t know what to do. The man started cussing at the poor woman. She looked like she wanted to cry, but she held it back well.

“You need to stop yelling,” Louis said calmly.

“Shut up, Peter Pan!” He screamed, walking over to him.

This man was much taller than Louis, and it scared him a bit. He wasn’t going to let that intimidate him, though. He politely tried to explain to the man that Ellen, the cast member, was only trying to do her job, and so was he. The man wasn’t satisfied by this at all, and he kept yelling. At this point, a crowd had emerged and Louis could feel himself getting angry.

“You don’t need to be such a jerk!” A little girl yelled.

The man turned towards her. Fearing that he might start yelling at her, Louis jumped into his path, “Don’t you dare do anything to her.”

“Her business is more important to you than mine?” He asked.

Louis heard someone yell his name, but he ignored it. He folded his arms, “Yes. I appreciate visitors who aren’t pigs.”

Everything from here was a bit of a blur. The next thing Louis knew was the feeling of his face against the ground. He had been punched so hard that it knocked him to the ground. Pain filled his entire head, and he heard lots of screaming from the crowd. Several people were by his side within seconds, helping him to his feet. Ellen pointed towards the dressing room, and they carried him in there.

Zayn, who was changing into his costume, ran over to them, “Louis! What happened?”

“Some guy punched me,” He explained.

Zayn was about to say something else, when Harry appeared in the doorway. He looked like he was going to cry, “Oh, Louis.”

“Harry!” Louis exclaimed, reaching out to him. Louis was a bit out of it, but knew that he wanted Harry with him.

The people who had brought Louis in let Harry take their place, and left. Louis and Zayn’s boss walked in, and he looked angry. He asked, “What happened?”

“I’m sorry, sir,” Louis said, “I lost my temper.”

“You never insult a visitor, no matter what they do!” He yelled.

“I understand,” Louis nodded, “and it won’t happen again.”

“You should lose the scholarship for this,” He popped his knuckles.

Louis felt his body tense up, as panic settled in, “No, sir! Please, I swear it won’t happen again!”

“You’re lucky you’ve never had any other complaints,” he said, and then left.

Louis’ breath became uneven as he tried to fight back a panic attack. Harry didn’t know what to do, but Zayn was quick to grab Louis’ hands and guide him to a chair. He looked him in the eyes and said, “It’s okay, Louis. You know how he is, he’ll cool off in a couple days.”

Louis nodded, and Zayn continued to tell him words of encouragement. Harry stood awkwardly in the back of the room. Zayn ushered him over. He kneeled down in front of Louis, and asked, “Does it hurt?”

“Yeah, like nothing else,” Louis answered.

Zayn disappeared to find something for the pain. Upon realizing that they were alone in the dressing room, Harry leaned in and kissed Louis’ lips. Louis was quick to react, wrapping his arms around Harry’s neck and pulling him closer. The bruise that was starting to form on Louis’ cheek was throbbing, but Louis didn’t even notice it right now. Kissing Harry was all that mattered to him.

Zayn came back in the room, and Louis pulled away. Zayn handed him a few pills and a bottle of water. He took them, and laid back in the chair. Harry went to sit in another chair. Zayn smiled at Louis, knowing what had just happened. Louis tried to hold back his own smile. His emotions were all over the place. He had almost gotten fired.

“The police arrested that man,” Zayn said, “and people are starting to leave the area.”

“Okay, well that’s good.”

“Harry,” Zayn rubbed his eyes, “Why don’t you take Louis for the day. He doesn’t need to be here for the rest of the day.”

“Yeah, of course!” Harry agreed quickly.

Louis stood up to change out of his costume and into his actual clothes. His head hurt so bad, and he just hoped the medication would kick in soon. Harry and Louis used the underground passage to get to the closest exit from the park. Louis didn’t want to cause any scenes by walking out from the dressing room into where all the people were.

“So where do you want to go?” Harry asked once they were in Harry’s car.

“Want to take a nap,” Louis murmured, “Head hurts so bad.”

A worried look crossed Harry’s face, “I’m going to take you to a doctor. I think you might have a concussion.”

Sure enough, Louis did have a concussion. His cheekbone was bruised from the punch, but when Louis fell, he hit his head a little too hard. The doctor said that he just needed to rest, and stay away from dangerous activities. He couldn’t watch tv or drive for two weeks.  
Harry took Louis to his dorm room after this. Harry said hi to his roommates, introduced Louis, and then they went into his bedroom. “Just lay down,” Harry commanded.

“Will you lay with me?” Louis asked, burying himself into the covers.

A second later, Harry was laying with Louis. Louis grabbed Harry’s hand and held it up to his face. He studied each detail of each of Harry’s fingers, and traced them. He turned so that he was facing Harry. Harry turned onto his side as well, and smiled at Louis. He leaned down to kiss the bruise that was now prominent on Louis’ face. He then traced the bone structure of Louis’ face.

“You’re so beautiful,” Harry whispered, “it’s a shame that he hurt your face.”

Louis reached a hand up to his cheek. He pressed down on the bruise and winced because it hurt. Harry pulled Louis’ hand away, and kissed the bruise once more. Louis cupped Harry’s cheeks and moved his lips onto his own mouth. This kiss was soft, and Louis could have melted. Harry was being so careful as to not hurt Louis. Every touch so delicate, and each second seeming to last longer than the last. Louis couldn’t get enough.

Louis broke away to ask, “What am I to you?”

Harry ran a somewhat shaky hand through Louis’ hair, “I don’t know. I know what I want you to be.”

“What?” he asked.

Harry hesitated. He looked away for a moment, and then back at Louis, “My boyfriend.”

Louis smiled, and kissed Harry one more time, “Then I will be.”

They kissed for a long while after that. The happiness that Louis felt couldn’t be any less. Eventually, Louis fell asleep in Harry’s arms, a small smile on his face. Harry continued scratching through Louis’ hair to ease the headache. 

-

“How early is too early to say that I love him?” Louis asked to Zayn once they got home one day.

“It’s too early, Louis,” Zayn laughed, “You’ve only been dating for a month.”

Yeah. Louis and Harry had been dating for a month, and everything was perfect. Most days, after Harry came and saw Louis at work, they would leave and spend the day at one of their places. Sometimes they spent the day at the park, but they had done that so many times, that it wasn’t too exciting anymore. Harry was taking classes early in the morning, so they never had to worry about that getting in the way. Sometimes Louis had to cancel their plans to do some college stuff, but Harry was always understanding.

At least once a week, Louis wanted to stay at the parade. Sometimes Harry would stay and watch it, but most of the time, the two just agreed to see each other tomorrow. Everything in their relationship was just so perfect, and Louis was so happy. Louis was going to be graduating in a couple months, and finding a normal job, and that would make their lives easier. It was so hard that Louis had to work weekends. It was also hard for Louis to spend the night at Harry’s house because it was a lot farther away from the park. Zayn wasn’t the biggest fan of Harry spending the night at their place. Because they were too “loud.” Whatever that meant.

Louis sent a quick text to Harry, telling him he’d gotten home safely. Since tomorrow was Louis’ day off, Harry would be coming over mostly likely. Louis went to sleep pretty much as soon as he got into his pajamas and into bed. He turned on his essential oil diffuser. Yeah, he was into the type of thing. Soon enough, he was out cold.

Louis always felt so sleep deprived, so on days he didn’t have to go to work, he slept in late. He woke up to the sound of Harry knocking at the front door. He rolled out of bed, not caring what he looked like and made his way to answer the door. He let Harry in with a smile, and Harry enveloped him into a big hug and a kiss on the cheek. 

“How’s your day been, babe?” Louis asked.

“Oh, it’s been great!” he grinned, “Mum’s in town, so I had breakfast with her. Gemma is too.”

“Oh yeah. She got in last night, right?” Louis asked.

Harry nodded, “She said she wants to meet you. I wasn’t sure if we’re ready for that yet, though.”

Louis smiled, “Uh, yeah.” Inside, he wasn’t sure what to think. He did want to meet Harry’s mum, but that was a big step. If things didn’t work out, then he’d have to feel guilty about hurting not only Harry, but also his mum.

“It’s okay, you don’t have to meet her. I just thought if you wanted to, she’s here.” Harry explained.

“I’ll meet her, of course!” Louis agreed, “Right now?”

When Harry nodded, Louis had no choice but to get into the shower right then. It was a given that Harry would be joining Louis in the shower. Harry was quick to urge Louis into the bathroom. He turned on the water, and grabbed a couple of towels from the cabinet. He started to undress himself as he spoke to Louis.

“Y’know, I think Gem’s the most excited to see you. Mum loves meeting new people, but Gemma has really good taste too,” Harry explained.

The way he spoke of his family made Louis smile. Louis hadn’t seen any of his siblings for almost four years now. His mum came to visit him every year, but it was just too expensive to bring the whole family. Soon enough, Harry stepped over the edge of tub and stood directly under the stream of hot water, hair flattening against the back of his neck as he waited for Louis to step in with him.

Louis watched him eagerly, and his eyes glistened with adoration for the younger boy. This was a sight he never wanted to forget. Before getting in, Louis allowed himself just to look at Harry for a moment. “I hope you know how endearing you look right now,” Louis giggled. And then he joined him, closing the shower curtain.

Since Harry was standing directly under the water, Louis stood to the side, just letting the extra water splash onto his skin. He wasn’t sure what to do now. Harry laughed at Louis, and playfully pulled him to stand under the stream as well. Louis poured some body wash onto his hands, and began rubbing it into Harry’s skin. Harry’s eyes fluttered shut for a moment, and then he returned the favor.  
Louis giggled when Harry started rubbing soap over his stomach. It tickled, and he couldn’t help but laugh. He noticed Harry trying to hold back a laugh, and he poked Harry’s dimple. Soapy hands slipping up his chest and then to his neck, he took the opportunity to kiss Harry and let out a giddy chuckle. 

“I’m so glad I met you,” Louis said. He wanted to tell Harry that he loved him. But it really was too soon, he knew.

They’d only really spent a few more minutes in the shower, passing the time with playful comments and washing each other up.  
Towards the end, Louis rinsed the remainder of soap off his body before letting Harry do the same and turning the water off. Harry stepped out, and offered his hand to help Louis do the same. Handing the boy a towel first, Louis picked up the second one and was quick to wrap it around his shoulders. Bending over momentarily to dry off his legs, he soon stood back up and set the towel up on a hook once he’d dried his hair a bit.

Harry was quick to do the same thing, and then he followed Louis into Louis’ bedroom, where the bed was all messed up from Louis sleeping in it last night. Louis got dressed into new clothes, and Harry just put on the ones he already had. Once they were both ready, Harry took Louis’ hand and they left the apartment. Harry called his mum, asking her where she wanted to go for lunch. They pulled into a restaurant parking lot, and Harry opened the door for Louis.

He grabbed his hand once more, and this time Louis’ hands were sweaty because he was nervous. Harry squeezed his hand to reassure him that it was okay, but Louis still wasn’t sure. Before they went inside, Harry pulled Louis to the side and planted a warm kiss on his lips. This helped a little bit more, and then they went in to meet Harry’s mum and sister.

Once they got to the table, Harry’s mum stood up and held out her hand, “I’m Anne, it’s so very nice to meet you.”

“I’m Louis,” Louis smiled, taking her hand, “it’s a pleasure to meet you as well.”

A girl who Louis knew to be Harry’s sister stood as well, “I’m Gemma.”

“Gemma,” Louis repeated, and shook her hand, “I’m Louis.”

Harry hugged the women as Louis sat down. Once they were all sitting, Anne turned towards Louis, “So tell me a little bit about yourself.”

Louis smiled, and rolled up the sleeves of his sweater, “Well, I work at Disneyland through an internship.”

He started to bounce his knee under the table, a nervous habit of his. Anne smiled, “Wow! How is that?”

“It’s amazing,” Louis gushed, “It’s been the best experience I could have ever imagined.”

“I heard of an incident at Disneyland about a month ago,” Gemma interjected, “Something happened with a drunk guy, and he punched one of the characters. I think it was Prince Charming.”

Louis let out a forced laugh, and Anne added, “Yes, it was a big deal, all over the news. Do you know anything about that?”

Louis took a small sip of his water, and just about as he was going to start talking, a waiter came over to take their order. He was relieved. As soon as the waiter left, the two women returned their gaze to Louis, apparently still expecting an answer. Harry reached for Louis’ hand under the table, and he squeezed it, letting Louis know that it was alright. 

“Yeah,” Louis forced a smile, “That actually happened to the Peter Pan character. The guy was just being rude to other workers and visitors, so the character called him a pig. And well, you see how that turned out.”

“I think it’s a shame,” Anne voiced her opinion, “Employees shouldn’t act that way.”

“Mum!” Harry nearly interrupted.

“I’m just saying,” She let out a small laugh, “He was probably asking for it.”

“Oh, definitely,” Louis said, placing a hand to his cheek. The bruise was long gone by now.

“Anyway,” she sighed, “What do you do at Disneyland?”

“Oh? Uh,” Louis was at a loss of words. Suddenly he couldn’t think of any jobs at Disneyland, “I just-”

“He plays Peter Pan,” Harry interrupted.

Louis and Anne’s jaws dropped at the same time, “Oh dear. Louis. I’m afraid I overstepped my place.”

“Oh no, don’t worry about it!” Louis assured her, “Trust me, I really was asking for it.”

Gemma laughed and Harry glared at her. Louis could feel his cheeks turn a bright shade of red, and he started sweating. Somehow he had managed to screw this up within the first five minutes. Harry’s mum was going to hate him, he already knew it. He was horrible at first impressions. Louis pulled his hand away from Harry’s and wiped his palms on his pants. 

There was awkward silence for a few minutes, and then Harry said, “Gemma, Louis plays the piano.”

Gemma grinned. She had dimples just like Harry, “Really? I’d love to hear you play sometime.”

“Of course,” Louis nodded, “I’ve heard all about how well you play.”

“I used to play a lot more, but now I’m just so busy,” She admitted.

“I understand how that is.”

The rest of the lunch went by too slowly for Louis to handle. Louis learned that Gemma was actually really cool and really nice. He liked Harry’s mum a lot too, but the entire lunch was just a bit awkward after how it had started. Both Louis and Anne had tried to cover up the elephant in the room, but they had failed. Right before the waiter brought out dessert, Louis excused himself to use the restroom. Once in there, he splashed his face with water, hoping that might help to calm his nerves.

As soon as Louis returned to the table, the three stopped talking. Louis knew he must’ve been the subject of their conversation. He smiled, the nerves he had just gotten rid of suddenly coming back. They quickly ate the dessert, paid for the food, said their goodbyes, and left. Louis had never been happier to leave a restaurant and get into the car. As soon as he did, he rested his head against the seat.

“Louis,” Harry sighed, turning on the car. Louis stayed quiet, “Louis, were you just going to let her say that about you?”

“Yeah,” he admitted.

Harry leaned over and kissed Louis softly. Louis barely kissed back, but he appreciated the gesture. Once they got home, it was obvious that Louis was in a sad mood. It broke Harry’s heart to see his boyfriend like this, especially when his own family was the cause of it. He held Louis’ hand as they walked into the apartment, and to Louis’ room. Louis didn’t waste any time in pulling off Harry’s shirt. Louis wanted to cry. The lunch hadn’t even been that bad, but he just wanted to cry.

“Baby,” Harry cooed, noticing Louis’ energy. He pulled the boy close, and laid down on the bed to cuddle with him.

Louis pulled away from Harry and proceeded to take off his own shirt. He loved the feeling of Harry’s skin against his own, so he laid back down and cuddled right into Harry’s side. He could hear Harry’s heartbeat, and it seemed to be going a million miles a minute. Harry traced his fingers along Louis’s spine, raising goosebumps on the older boy’s skin. Louis began to feel sleepy, and worn out from the pressure of the day, he let himself drift off. The last thing he heard before he fell completely asleep was Harry whispering sweet nothings into his ear.

-

Louis and Harry kept dating for a few more months. Now that it was the end of June, Louis had graduated, and Disney was trying to help him find another job. To be completely honest, Louis was devastated to be losing his job at Disneyland. It had been his entire life for the past four years, and he wasn’t sure what he would do without it. After all, that had been where he’d met Harry.

“I have to quit next week,” Louis stated, sounding a bit disappointed.

“So do I, and I’m thrilled,” Zayn said, and the two laughed.

Harry shook his head, “How are you two even friends?”

“Oi, watch it,” Zayn threatened, “Louis would pick me over you in a heartbeat.”

“Oh really?” Harry raised his eyebrows, “Who would you pick, Lou?”

Louis smirked. “Sorry Zayn,” he laughed, pressing a kiss onto Harry’s cheek.

“You suck,” Zayn rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, he does!” Harry exclaimed, causing Louis to laugh.

Zayn stood from the couch, “That’s it! You guys are disgusting, and I’ve got to go meet Amber.”

Zayn grabbed his keys and left the apartment. Louis looked around at all the boxes that surrounded him and Harry. They had been dating for about four months ago, and they had decided to move in together. They knew it was fast, but it just felt right. At this point, they were practically living together anyway, so they figured they might as well just live together.  
Louis was about to sign with a new job as a health teacher at a local middle school in the county. In a few hours, they were flying back home to Doncaster, where Harry would meet Louis’ family. Louis couldn’t wait to see them all again. It had been so long. Once they came home, Louis and Harry would be moving into a small two bedroom apartment that was a block away from Disneyland. That way they could still see the fireworks every night.

“Ready to go, babe?” Harry asked, pulling Louis up from the couch.

They walked, hand in hand out to the car and to the airport. Throughout the flight, which was about ten hours, Louis told Harry stories about his sisters and his mum. He loved his mum more than anything in the entire world, and he was so excited to finally see her. Harry loved listening to Louis talk about his family, and it made him all the more excited to meet them. He wasn’t even nervous, he knew they’d be wonderful.

About halfway through the flight, when most people were asleep, Louis pulled Harry in for a kiss. It was full of passion and love. Louis wasn’t very good at putting his feelings into words, but he could do it through affection. Harry kissed him back gingerly, his fingers lightly tugging on Louis’ hair. Into the kiss, Louis giggled. He was just so happy.

“I love you,” He said, laying his head onto Harry’s shoulder.

Harry smiled, and kissed Louis’ forehead, “I love you, too.”

Once they got off the plane, and to Louis’ childhood home, they were both absolutely exhausted. It was the middle of the night, so the only person who was awake when they got there was Louis’ mum. He dropped his bag when he saw her, and ran into her embrace. Harry simply watched with a smile on his face.

“Louis! How are you? I’ve missed you so much!” She whispered. She didn’t want to be too loud as to not wake anyone up.

“I’ve missed you too!” Louis whispered in return. He started crying as he clutched his mum. He hadn’t seen her in nearly two years.

“Stop crying, Louis,” She laughed, “You’re going to make me cry.” But the truth of the matter was that she already was crying. Harry stood in awe as he witnessed the true bond between mother and son. He had never had that with his own mum.

“You must be Harry,” She said once her and Louis had separated.

“Yes,” Harry smiled, reaching out his hand, “It’s an absolute pleasure and honor to meet you, ma’am.”

“Please,” She laughed, pulling him into a tight hug, “Call me Jay.”

Louis directed Harry up to his old room. It still had all of his old things in it. He would have to look at them later. After he and Harry got settled in, Louis told Harry that he would see him in the morning. He ran back down the stairs to his mum, he wanted to catch up with her a little bit.

“Louis, you’re so big!” She grinned, hugging him once again.

“How are you? How are the girls?” He asked. He missed his sisters so much.

“They’re great,” She nodded, “Lottie graduated this year. And Fiz can’t wait to go into high school. The twins are getting so mature, they miss you.”

“I can’t wait to see everyone tomorrow,” He said.

“Tell me about this boy you’ve brought with you!” Jay nudged him with her elbow, causing him to laugh. “I know we’ve talked about him on the phone, but really tell me about him.”

“He’s so wonderful, Mum!” Louis grinned. He could have gone on for hours about Harry. He loved him so much.

“How are things going with him right now?” She asked.

Louis nodded, “We’re actually moving in together.”

“Wow!” She exclaimed, hugging her son once more, “That’s so exciting!”

The two stayed up for another couple hours, talking about everything. When he finally went up to his room to go to sleep, he could see that it was almost dawn outside. He laid down on the bed next to Harry, who was out cold. Almost instinctively, Harry snuggled up with Louis just as he got in bed. Louis considered himself so lucky. Within seconds, he was asleep.

The next morning, Louis woke up to the sound of one of his little sisters laughing from downstairs. He opened his eyes, and looked over at Harry, who was already awake. Harry kissed him slowly, and another laugh was heard from downstairs. Louis smiled. He wouldn’t mind having a future like this with Harry. In fact, it was what he wanted more than anything in the world.

“I love you so much, Louis,” Harry said.

“I love you too, Harry. I’m so glad I made the choice to fall in love with you.”

“What made you really decide to?” Harry asked.

Louis smiled. It was true that he was afraid of commitment, and he made that clear from the beginning. At first, Harry had insisted that they move slowly. He didn’t want to scare away Louis. One day, Louis simply admitted that he loved Harry, and he was ready to take the relationship to a new level, and at a new pace. Harry had always wondered what triggered this decision, but he hadn’t asked until now. The answer was something Louis had learned from Peter Pan himself:

What if I fall? Oh but my darling, what if you fly?

**Author's Note:**

> hi! thanks for reading!  
> please leave a comment on your thoughts!


End file.
